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Allergy... What is it?
You are not alone.
At least 40 million Americans have allergies serious enough to benefit from professional help.
What is an allergy?
An allergy is an unpleasant physical reaction that you experience when your body is exposed to a substance to which you are hypersensitive. Such substances, which are harmless to many people, are called allergens. In other words, an allergen is any substance that can cause your body to react. An allergy is your body's way of saying, "I don't like it."
Recognizing your allergy.
Nose - nasal itching, congestion, sneezing, post-nasal drip, watery discharge, commonly associated with "hay fever" or allergic rhinitis
Eyes - itching, redness, swelling, tearing, and other conjunctivitis symptoms
Ears - fluid in the middle ear, and recurrent ear infections
Lungs - asthmatic symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and coughing
Skin (including lips, inside of mouth/ears) - itchy welts or "hives" (urticaria) of varying sizes
Skin (contact dermatitis) - blistery rash, intense itching
Skin (eczema) - dry itchy rash
Digestive tract - stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea (associated with food allergy)
Other possible allergy symptoms include headaches, fatigue, hyperactivity, and depression
How do you "get" an allergy?
You can develop an allergy at any age. For most people, however, symptoms first appear during early childhood after exposure to the offending allergen. Allergens invade the body in different ways, seeking out various "target issues." We inhale them in the air we breathe. We swallow them in our food and drink. We absorb them through our skin by touching objects around us. Some allergens enter the body through injection. Drugs, like penicillin, and venom from certain insects often cause allergic reactions. Other allergens are seasonal, like pollen, and bother us only during certain times of the year.
The body responds.
When your body encounters a foreign substance, your body's immune system automatically produced antibodies to protect you. If you are hypersensitive, your immune system is likely to over react, causing excess production of an antibody like IgE. Excess IgE or other antibodies seek out and attach themselves to target issues. There they remain, on call, ready to be activated whenever your body encounters the offending allergen. Once activated, antibodies cause the release of inflammatory chemicals that, in turn, produce your allergy symptoms. Of course the nature of your symptoms depends on the location of the target issue - that part of your body that is hypersensitive to the offending allergen.
Could your allergy be psychological?
Allergy is primarily a physical disorder. Even so, your allergic target tissues can be affected by strong emotions: fear, anger, and worry. Thus, under stressful conditions, your body is more likely to react to allergic attack.
Your allergic threshold.
Your body's level of resistance to allergic attack will vary depending on certain conditions: the number of allergens you are exposed to at an given time, your general health and emotional state, whether you already have an illness, how much rest you've been getting, or even a change in the weather. The presence (or absence) of such factors can actually increase or decrease your vulnerability.
Was your allergy inherited?
It's possible that you may have inherited a tendency to develop allergy. You have a 75% chance if both your parents have a history of allergy and a 50% chance if only one of your parents was affected.
Diagnosing your allergy.
The first step in successfully treating your allergy is to find the cause. Your doctor will ask many questions about your allergic history and give you a thorough physical examination. This may be sufficient to identify the cause of your problem accurately. In most cases, more extensive investigation is necessary. Your doctor may give you a simple blood test or skin test, or both. (Until recently, skin-testing was the only method available. In this procedure, a liquid extract of the suspected allergen is injected or "scratched" into the patient's skin. If a welt develops, the allergy is confirmed.) Detecting a food allergy is often the most difficult. If food is suspected as the source of your allergy, your doctor may prescribe an "elimination diet." In this procedure, all "suspect" foods would be eliminated from your diet - then returned, one by one - the purpose being to isolate and identifying the offending food.
Treatment.
Some allergies do disappear or moderate with time or treatment, but most patients require continuing treatment in order to maintain a symptom-free lifestyle. Your doctor can prescribe a treatment program for you that will relieve or eliminate much of your discomfort. You may also discover you can solve your problem simply by avoiding those things that trigger your allergy. If, for example, you are allergic to chocolate, you can avoid eating chocolate. Many allergens, such as pollen and dust, are unavoidable and require specific treatment. Many symptoms can be controlled by supplements, such as Quercetin, or the hormone, Cortisol. Your doctor might also prescribe immunotherapy-allergy shots. In this procedure, small doses of the offending allergen are injected into the body over a period of time, sometimes building up the body's tolerance to that allergen. Whichever treatment your doctor prescribes, it's important to continue your treatment on a regular basis. Stay with the program; we seek to eliminate allergies in four years of treatment or less.
Our policies for testing.
For you to derive the most benefit from testing, please adhere to the following procedures:
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The testing process requires mental concentration for accuracy; therefore, the testing room is limited to only people who are being tested. Of course, children being tested must have a parent present at ALL times.
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Wear a short sleeved shirt when scheduled for skin testing.
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Bring a list of foods you have eaten during the previous 4 days, when you are being tested for foods.
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Do not wear perfumes, after-shaves, hair spray, or scented deodorants. Do not wear clothes that have been dry-cleaned or washed with scented soaps or fabric softeners.
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Take 2-4 capsules of bicarbonate each morning of testing and eat a balanced breakfast containing protein, essential oils, and fiber.
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Conversation and activity is to be kept to a minimum in the testing room. Please remain quiet except for reporting of symptoms to the technician.
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Refrain from the use of cellular phones during testing.
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Drinking and eating are not permitted during testing.
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At the end of each testing session, check the time of your next testing appointment. If you cannot keep your next testing appointment you must let the office know 24 hours in advance or you may be charged for the late cancellation. Late cancellation fees are $25.00/half day of testing and $50.00/full day of testing.
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IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU INFORM THE ALLERGY TESTING TECHNICIAN PRIOR TO EACH TESTING SESSION OF ANY SUBSTANCES WHICH HAVE EVER CAUSED YOU TO HAVE A SEVERE ALLERGIC REACTION OR AN ATTACK OF ASTHMA.
Your cooperation in these matters will be greatly appreciated by our staff and other patients.
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Medications & Allergy Testing:
IMPORTANT: Discontinuing certain medications must be done under the strict advice of your physician, as the medications may be vital to your health. If you have an elevated blood pressure, it should be controlled with medication other than a beta-blocker if possible. You may also want to address our preventive medicine approach to diagnosing uses of essential hypertension without synthetic drugs.
Accurate allergy testing usually requires the following.
1. No antihistamines or antihistamine containing medication within two to six days of testing.
Benadryl - Avoid two days before testing.
Chlor-Trimcton and Zyrtec - Avoid three days before testing.
Claritin - Avoid four to six days before testing.
Atarax and Seldane - Avoid six days before testing.
Hismanal - Avoid six to eight weeks before testing.
2. No alpha or beta-blockers within one week of testing.
3. No MAO inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, or phenothiazines within four weeks of testing.
4. In regards to cortisones (steroids), most cortisone inhalers are okay, and occasionally short courses of cortisone by mouth or injections are okay. The everyday use of cortisone by mouth for a long period of time may prevent allergy testing. Discuss this with the nurse or physician before or at the time of your initial office visit.
Certain other medications, which are not listed here, may also interfere with allergy testing. Please consult our office before scheduling your testing appointment. You can also contact our allergy department at (508) 854-1380 x. 207.
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