samter's Traid Report

[Guest guest]

For thoes of you who are interested in my Samter's Triad I Search report here it is:

Step One: (What I know, about me)

I am very interested in Samter's Triad. Other names for this same condition are Samter's Syndrome and Triad Asthma. I have Samter's Triad, so it is particularly important to me to find out as much as possible to help myself. I am trying to find a way to get my symptoms alleviated as much as possible. The three components of Samter's Triad are asthma, nasal polyps, and an allergy to aspirin. My allergy to aspirin is not as bad as others who have Samter's. Some people have such a severe allergic reaction to aspirin that they die. The one time I took an aspirin I had some difficulty breathing, my cheeks turned slightly red, my eyes looked blood-shot, and I was very hot. This took place less than 15 minutes after I took the aspirin. I took some emergency medication for my asthma that helped me breath better. Less than a half-an hour later I felt much better. That was a scary event. I now know that I am allergic to aspirin and the outcome could have been worse. The symptoms that I want gone the most are my congested nose and runny nose; they are the worst. How can I help myself and others with Samter's Triad feel better?

Step Two: (process in doing my report)

4/30/03:

At infotrac I found some good articles on "triad asthma". I only had one problem; there are some words and concepts that are hard to understand. I think by reading more and more information on Samter's Triad I will understand it, more. At the Student Resource Center I found good definitions of Asthma for my paper.

5/02/03:

Today I tried dogpile.com for info and infotrac too. At dogpile.com I found a website that was very informative. I found out that "about 10% of individuals with Samter's syndrome are also afflicted with urticaria (hives) and/or angioedema (periodic swelling of the lips, tongue, neck, and so forth)." I have Urticaria and I don't think that I have angioedema, thank goodness. It was a little scary because I could get this and angioedema is considered a medical emergency.

5/07/03:

Today I found a great definition of Asthma at Britannica online. There is even a diagram. I had no luck finding a newspaper article on Samter's Triad; that was disappointing. Mostly I typed up my I-Search paper today.

5/09/03:

Today I completed Step 1 of my paper. I really wanted to find out how many people Samter's affects, but all I could find was at Dr. Hoffman's website where he said that Samter's is "not common, but not rare." I started the "meat" of my paper, step 3 and the cited page, step 5. I'm making good progress.

5/16/03:

Today I took notes from two books I own. Fed Up and The Failsafe Cookbook. I wrote some more for my step three and started my step four. I am almost done with my step three and I am done with my step one. And I worked on my cited page.

5/19/03:

Today I realized that I need to get my interviews done. I will have them definitely done by Wednesday and I will put them in my Step 3. I worked on my Step 3 also today. I worked on my power point also.

5/21/03:

Today I finished my paper. Yesterday I finished my interviews. I had a really fun time learning more about my disease, Samter's Triad.

Step Three: (information I gathered)

Samter's Triad is a condition where people have nasal polyps, asthma and an allergic reaction to aspirin. "Aspirin-sensitive asthma (ASA) occurs in 20% of patients with bronchial asthma", according to Helen Evsyukova. Samter's Triad is "not common, but not rare", said by Dr. Hoffman. Valentin Popa said "Each year, despite a wide and efficient array of asthma treatments, patients with asthma make approximately 1.8 million visits to emergency departments" (Library of Michigan). Samter's Triad is like having a cold all year long.

One part of Samter's Triad is having Asthma. "Asthma is a chronic disorder of the lungs in which inflamed airways are prone to constrict, causing episodes of breathlessness, wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness. Asthma ranges from person to person in severity from mild to life threatening in some situations. Inflamed airways become hypersensitive to a variety of stimuli, including dust mites, animal dander, pollen, air pollution, cigarette smoke, medications, weather conditions, and exercise. Stress can exacerbate symptoms." According to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Asthma can be treated with medicine such as Advair Discus or Singulair.

Samter's Triad was first discovered by M. Fernand Widal, Pierre Abrami, and J. Lermoyez in 1922, according to www.whonamedit.com. Samter's Triad has been around for a while now with still no cure. Samter's is not researched as much as other diseases or dysfunctions that are life threatening. Also, according to that website other symptoms that may be included with Samter's Triad are eosinophilia of bronchial and nasal secretions and of circulating blood, urticaria, and/or angioedema. Samter's Triad is an immunological disorder.

Samter's Triad has different options on how to make people feel better, but no real cure so far. Switching medicine helps some, while aspirin desensitizing helps others. Going on a special, "failsafe", diet also helps quite a few people. Most people who have Samter's at one point or another are so miserable they turn to surgery to help them. It seems that not one treatment helps everyone.

Following The Failsafe Cookbook diet helps many people identify what food is bothering them. On this diet you stay away from preservatives, artificial coloring, and added chemicals. The information in the cookbook by Sue Dengate is based upon a study at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) Allergy Clinic. This study was done over twenty years and 20,000 patients. Dengate says, "She achieves about a 70% success rate with asthmatics."

Aspirin desensitizing is a treatment used to help people suffering from Samter's Triad. First, a person must go in to have surgery to get the polyps removed. Second, they must wait three to four weeks after the surgery to start the aspirin desensitizing. Third, the person having aspirin desensitizing must go into a hospital to get aspirin administered to them for five days. Then the person must take two aspirin a day for the rest of their life.

Aspirin isn't bad if people get desensitized to it. Aspirin will slow the growth of polyps for Samter's sufferers. Aspirin does a lot more than most people think. According to an article at www.globeandmail.com aspirin is "a wonder drug". Aspirin relieves headaches, fever and joint pain, body pain, protection against heart disease, protection against stroke, reduces the risk of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, mouth and throat cancer, and may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Aspirin was marketed more than one hundred years ago according to McIlroy.

Aspirin is made up of natural salicylates. Salicylates are "natural food chemicals which are present in plant foods, including most fruits," according to the book Fed Up. Also according to that book, "aspirin is originally from willow bark." Dengate said, "The Mediterranean diet is the healthiest in the world… Foods which are emphasized are the plant foods like grains, vegetables, dried beans, lentils, fruit, and nuts." This diet is high in salicylates and low in additives. This is a choice for people who want to try and eat healthy.

In an interview via e-mail with Judy s I was given a little taste of what she goes through. s stated, "I know that Samter's is rarely correctly diagnosed even by ENTs and allergists." s also said that the people who have Samter's all vary in degrees; no two people suffer in the same way. Her symptoms have been fairly mild since she stopped using face wash and a cream that contained salicylic acid. s said, "I have found that reading labels is most effective." s was diagnosed in October of 2001 with Samter's Triad. s said that "It took almost a full year, 2 allergists, and 3 ENTs and no nasal breathing at all" to be diagnosed. She lost her sense of smell and taste for two years because of Samter's. s said, "Some folks never get their smell back. I was lucky." s stated, "I don't like it, but I know of a lot worse things that people get, so, in the big picture, I guess it's not so bad. What's that old saying? If everyone put their troubles in a big bag, people would probably still pick out their own. The most frustrating thing about Samter's is that doctors don't know that much about it; everyone's is slightly different, and remedies don't work for everyone. And it goes largely undiagnosed so people are just aggravating it all the time unknowingly." Judy s gave all of this information.

Over the phone I had an interview with Dr. Savliwala. Dr. Savi said that he has about four or five patients that have Samter's Triad. The worst of his patients is a person who has polyps that are almost coming out of the nasal passages. The mildest of his cases is a person who has very small polyps that are very hard to see. They were seen on a CAT scan. Dr. Savi suggests to his patients to have aspirin desensitization for treatment. He also will prescribe medication for the asthma, allergies, and/or sinus infection.

Samter's Triad is a disease that if you don't have it you really don't know what it's like. The best example of what Samter's is like is having a sinus infection for years. Most people can't even stand to have one for a week. To see what an asthma attack is like try breathing through a straw as long as you can, then stop when you get light headed. If you are curious about nasal polyps try pinching your nose with a clothespin for a day. Most people with Samter's can't breathe through their nose; it's too blocked. People without Samter's Triad take so much for granted, like the simple pleasure of smelling. Samter's is a disease that every moment of every day you know you have it and can't get rid of it.

Step Four: (What I learned)

I have learned so much from researching Samter's Triad. I joined the Samter's Triad group at so I can learn more and help others. I wrote an e-mail to Marcus suggesting that he take Advair Discus for his Asthma because he was having trouble with it. These are the exact words that he wrote back to me.

,

Thanks so much for the suggestion. Strangely enough I have been on Advair Discus for about 10 days and my Asthma has improved tremendously. The asthma has been the one symptom I have not been able to shake. All my other problems have been minimal since my polyp surgery in December. I am overseas on business and will be gone for 45 days. My Advair will run out 15 days before I get home. Keep your fingers crossed.

Marcus

Uarisk1@...

After receiving this e-mail back I was so pleased that I made a difference in someone's life.

I will help others and myself with my knowledge. I know now that Samter's Triad could be a life threatening disease. The ways that Samter's is life threatening are if you had an extremely bad asthma attack or if you took an aspirin. Other wise it is just a bothersome disease. I know now the symptoms that other people have that I need to watch out for in the future. With the knowledge of what might come in the future I can hopefully prevent it or slow the process of it coming. I will keep a look out on new medication that might help other Samter's Triad sufferers and myself. I want to end Samter's Triad so no one else will have to suffer from it.

Step Five: (bibliography)

Works Cited:

"Asthma." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2003. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

May 07, 2003 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=10099>

Dengate, Sue. Fed Up. Random House Australia Pty Ltd, 1998.

Dengate, Sue. The Failsafe Cookbook. Random House Australia Pty Ltd, 2001.

Dr. Hoffman. Samter's Triad. The Medical Consumer's Advocate. 5/07/03 <http://www.doctorhoffman.com/xsamter.htm>

Dr. Savliwala. Telephone interview. 20 May 2003.

Evsyukova, Helen. Aspirin-sensitive asthma due to diffuse neuroendocrine system pathology. Neuorendocrinology Letters. May 13, 2003 <http://www.nel.edu/23_4/NEL230402R02_Evsyukova.htm>

s, Judy. E-mail interview. 20 May 2003.

McIlroy, Anne. The Wonder Drug. Globeandmail.com. May 17, 2003 <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPPrint/LAC/20030412/FCASPI/T>

Popa, Valentin. Emergency department visits in asthma: should all be prevented?. Library of Michigan Health Reference Center-Academic. May 9, 2003 <http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=10099>

Hope my paper wasn't too long for you to read.

I would like to know what you all think of my paper

I will let you all know my grade from my teacher once I get it.

MI