Redakcja VitMode — Odporność, infekcje i skóra
Editorial team
VitMode editorial team — no individual bylines; content based on primary sources
VitMode Editorial — Immunity, Infections and Skin is the VitMode editorial team responsible for: immunity, recurrent infections and the health of skin and mucous membranes. The team has no individual bylines — texts are prepared by VitMode editors from primary sources (clinical trials, meta-analyses, guidelines). Every cited PubMed paper is automatically checked for a matching identifier, title and publication year. The content is educational and does not replace medical advice. Factual errors can be reported in a comment under the post or through the contact form; corrections are made by the editorial team.
Blog articles
Chronic Cough (Over 8 Weeks): Common Causes and Which Tests to Expect
A cough that lasts longer than 8 weeks is called chronic, and it is rarely just a 'long cold'. Guidelines list a handful of recurring causes: postnasal drip from the upper airways, asthma, reflux, eosinophilic bronchitis, ACE-inhibitor drugs and smoking. We explain the order in which a cause is looked for, what a chest X-ray and spirometry really add, why a cough can persist despite treatment, and which signs (coughing blood, weight loss) call for prompt investigation.
November 3, 2026
Exertional Breathlessness: When It Is Poor Fitness and When It Is Disease
Breathlessness on stairs or while walking can result from poor fitness, but also from asthma, heart failure, iron deficiency, obesity or, less often, lung cancer. In a study of people with unexplained breathlessness and a normal NT-proBNP, nearly half simply had reduced fitness and about one in six had early heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. We explain how doctors separate these causes (blood count, spirometry, ECG, NT-proBNP, echo, exercise test) and which symptoms call for urgent review.
November 3, 2026
Oxygen Saturation (SpO2): Normal Values, Pulse Oximeters and Smartwatches — How Accurate Is the Reading?
Oxygen saturation (SpO2) shows what share of the haemoglobin in the blood is loaded with oxygen. In one study a medical pulse oximeter was off by about 1 percentage point on average, but in a few percent of people the difference reached 4 points or more. We explain what disturbs the reading (cold hands, dark nail polish, movement, skin tone), how accurate watches and bands are at low saturation, which values are considered normal and when a low reading needs a doctor.
November 3, 2026
Coughing After Eating and Choking: Causes and When to Test Swallowing
An occasional choke is normal, but coughing at every meal, a wet voice after eating, recurrent pneumonia or weight loss are reasons to test swallowing. Swallowing problems affect about 1 in 5 older people living at home, and some aspiration is silent. We explain how to tell dysphagia from reflux and other causes, what studies say about screening tests and swallowing imaging (FEES, videofluoroscopy), and when to see a doctor or speech therapist.
November 3, 2026
Wheezing: Causes Other Than Asthma
Wheezing in the chest is associated with asthma, but the same sound can come from COPD, heart failure, vocal cord dysfunction (inducible laryngeal obstruction), an allergic reaction or a foreign body in the airways. Telling wheeze (breathing out, narrowing in the lungs) from stridor (breathing in, narrowing in the upper airway) can be key. We explain what studies say about the overlap of these conditions, how spirometry with a flow-volume loop helps, how vocal cord dysfunction is treated and which symptoms need urgent help.
November 3, 2026
Earwax: Should You Clean Your Ears, Are Cotton Swabs Safe, and What Is Impacted Wax?
Earwax is not dirt but a secretion that protects the ear canal, and in most people it clears out on its own. Otolaryngology guidelines advise against routinely treating earwax in people without symptoms, and cotton swabs push wax deeper and are a recognised cause of eardrum perforation. We explain when wax becomes an impaction, what the evidence says about softening drops and irrigation, why ear candles are discouraged, and in which situations you should not irrigate your ears yourself.
October 29, 2026
Recurrent Nosebleeds: Causes, First Aid and When to Get Tested
Most people have a nosebleed at least once in their life, and it usually comes from the front part of the nasal septum, where vessels lie just beneath a thin mucous membrane. When nosebleeds keep coming back, it is worth checking for dry mucosa, picking or nasal sprays, anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs and, less often, a bleeding disorder or a tumour. We explain how first aid works according to the guideline (pressure for at least 5 minutes), what is known about hypertension, who needs blood tests and which symptoms call for urgent assessment.
October 29, 2026
Tonsil Stones: Causes, Bad Breath and How to Get Rid of Them
Tonsil stones (tonsilloliths) are small whitish or yellowish deposits in the crypts of the palatine tonsils, made of leftover cells, bacteria and mucus. On CT they are found in about a quarter of people, usually without symptoms, but in some they go with bad breath, a foreign-body sensation and recurrent sore throat. We explain how they form, how strong the link with halitosis is, what can be done safely at home, what is known about laser cryptolysis and tonsillectomy, and when white spots in the throat are something else.
October 29, 2026
Hoarseness Lasting Over 3 Weeks: Causes and When You Need a Laryngoscopy
Hoarseness (dysphonia) that does not clear up after a few weeks is a signal to look at the larynx, not just to wait it out or treat blindly. According to the American otolaryngology guideline, laryngoscopy should be done when a voice disorder does not resolve or improve within 4 weeks, and immediately when a serious cause is suspected. We explain what causes persistent hoarseness (voice misuse, nodules and polyps, laryngopharyngeal reflux, vocal fold paralysis, the thyroid, smoking, cancer), why the guideline advises against antireflux drugs before the larynx has been looked at, and what voice therapy offers.
October 29, 2026
Lump in the Throat (Globus): Causes, Tests and Treatment
A lump in the throat (globus pharyngeus) is a common complaint: a feeling of a lump or pressure in the throat with no difficulty swallowing food and no structural abnormality. The causes are unclear, and current views link tension in the throat and laryngeal muscles with mucosal irritation. We explain how globus differs from dysphagia, what the studies say about reflux and proton pump inhibitors (one placebo-controlled trial showed no benefit), what role speech therapy, centrally acting drugs and reassurance play, and which symptoms call for tests.
October 29, 2026
Oral allergy syndrome (OAS): itchy mouth after apples or nuts with pollen allergy
Itching and tingling in the mouth after a raw apple, carrot or hazelnut in a person allergic to birch pollen is most often oral allergy syndrome (OAS, in newer terminology pollen-food allergy syndrome). The cause is cross-reactivity: a food protein resembles a pollen protein to the immune system. Symptoms usually stay in the mouth and throat and cooking often removes them, but this is not a rule without exceptions. We explain the mechanism, the difference between PR-10 proteins, profilins and LTPs, the role of component testing, what the guidelines say about avoiding foods and whether pollen immunotherapy can help.
October 29, 2026
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS): does it exist and how is it diagnosed
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is a diagnosis for people who develop intestinal or extra-intestinal symptoms after eating gluten-containing foods when celiac disease and wheat allergy have been excluded. There is no biomarker for it, so diagnosis needs a protocol: first exclude celiac disease (while still eating gluten), then a gluten-free diet and a blinded gluten challenge. Double-blind trials show that in many people symptoms are provoked not by gluten but by fructans (FODMAPs) or by the expectation of a reaction, although some patients do react to gluten. We explain the Salerno criteria, the key studies, why you must not start a gluten-free diet before celiac testing and what to do in practice.
October 29, 2026
IgG food intolerance tests: do they make sense and what to do instead
IgG food intolerance tests, sold in panels covering dozens or hundreds of foods, have no confirmed diagnostic value. The position of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is unambiguous: the presence of specific IgG or IgG4 antibodies against foods reflects contact with the food and the development of tolerance, not allergy or intolerance, so the test is not useful for complaints after eating. The only randomised trial that suggested a benefit from an IgG-based diet (in people with irritable bowel syndrome) has important limitations. We explain why the result is positive in healthy people, what harm an unnecessary elimination diet does, which tests are worthwhile and how to check in a structured way what disagrees with you.
October 29, 2026
Nut allergy in adults: symptoms, diagnosis and what to do in anaphylaxis
Nut allergy in adults can be a persistent childhood allergy or begin only in adulthood, and its picture varies widely: from an itchy mouth in pollen-food cross-allergy to anaphylaxis. The risk is decided not by the name of the nut but by the type of protein you are sensitised to (storage proteins and LTP are more dangerous than PR-10 and profilins), which is why component diagnostics is so valuable. We explain the difference between peanuts and tree nuts, which tests make sense, how to recognise anaphylaxis, how to use an adrenaline autoinjector in line with the EAACI recommendations and what is known about immunotherapy in adults.
October 29, 2026
Red meat allergy (alpha-gal syndrome): the link with tick bites and delayed reactions
Urticaria, abdominal pain or even anaphylaxis a few hours after a dinner of beef or pork, in a person who had eaten meat without problems until then and was once bitten by a tick, is the typical picture of alpha-gal syndrome. It is an IgE-mediated allergy to the sugar galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose found in mammalian meat, and the sensitisation is linked to tick bites; in Europe the evidence points to the castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus). The reaction appears with a delay of 3-6 hours, so it is easily missed. We explain the mechanism, data from Poland and Sweden, diagnosis (specific alpha-gal IgE), diet, the role of cofactors, the emergency plan and what is known about the fall in antibody levels.
October 29, 2026
Cold sores: why they keep coming back, what treats them and does L-lysine help
Cold sores keep recurring because the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) stays in nerve ganglia for life after the first infection and reactivates with UV light, fever or stress. The latest Cochrane review (87 trials, more than 22,000 participants) shows that antivirals shorten healing by roughly one day on average, and that L-lysine for prevention is not supported by controlled studies. We explain what actually works, when it pays to start treatment early and when a cold sore needs urgent medical attention.
October 26, 2026
Nail fungus (onychomycosis): oral and topical treatment, and do home remedies work?
Nail fungus (onychomycosis) is treated most effectively with oral antifungal drugs, above all terbinafine: in a Cochrane review of 48 trials and 10,200 people it performed clearly better than placebo and probably better than azoles. Topical treatment works less well, laser has no confirmed benefit in controlled trials, and the evidence for vinegar and tea tree oil is thin. First, though, you need to confirm that the changed nail really is infected with a fungus.
October 26, 2026
Warts (verrucas): what really works and what does not
Warts are growths caused by the HPV virus that often disappear on their own but in many people last for months or years. A Cochrane review of 85 trials found that salicylic acid clears warts better than placebo, that cryotherapy is not significantly better than it, and that duct tape gave no advantage over placebo. We explain when it is worth waiting, when to treat, what the large primary-care trials showed and when a wart needs a doctor.
October 26, 2026
Oral thrush in adults (oral candidiasis): causes, symptoms and treatment
Oral thrush in adults is an infection of the mouth with Candida yeasts, most often Candida albicans, linked to inhaled steroids, antibiotics, dentures, diabetes and weakened immunity. The IDSA guideline recommends topical treatment (clotrimazole, miconazole or nystatin) for 7-14 days in mild disease and oral fluconazole in more severe disease. We explain how to recognise thrush, how to prevent it with an inhaler and dentures, what to do when it returns and when symptoms suggest the oesophagus is involved.
October 26, 2026
Pinworms in adults: symptoms, treatment and how to avoid reinfection in the family
Pinworms in adults show up mainly as night-time anal itching and usually spread within the family. Diagnosis rests on a morning cellophane-tape test (a single test has a sensitivity of about 50%, three mornings about 90%), and treatment is one dose of albendazole, mebendazole or pyrantel repeated after two weeks. We explain why relapses are so common, why it is worth treating the whole household, which hygiene measures make sense and when anal itching is not pinworm.
October 26, 2026