Though springtime is a season of sunshine and renewal, it also triggers seasonal allergies for millions of people. Trees, grass, and weeds release allergens such as pollen into the air, kicking your immune system into gear and releasing chemicals in your body that cause allergy symptoms. Do annoying symptoms like coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, and nasal congestion sound familiar? You don’t have to keep suffering through seasonal changes.
With the help of allergy services from your primary care provider, you can begin to find relief. Untreated allergies can sometimes lead to other conditions such as asthma, migraines, sleep disorders, sinusitis, and nasal polyps, so it’s important to find a long-term, effective allergy treatment that works for you.
Allergy Testing
While the internet offers a long list of home remedies for allergies, sometimes that is not enough. Before jumping to a treatment plan, understanding where exactly your allergies come from can be a powerful step in taking control of your allergies. This is where allergy testing comes in.
Allergy skin testing is a simple, painless way to learn if you are suffering from allergies and helps identify what exactly is triggering your symptoms. It’s a great first step to take to determine how to manage your allergies. An allergy skin test can be performed at one of our Avance Care offices and involves placing small drops of several different allergens on or under the surface of your skin. Your allergy technician will then measure your body’s response to the allergens and help you determine the best next steps to take.
When you’re able to identify what you’re specifically allergic to, you can better manage your allergies by preparing when you see seasonal numbers of those allergens progress. In short – pollens, grasses, and molds don’t stand a chance.
Allergy Shots/Immunotherapy
Over the counter and prescription medications can help treat allergy symptoms, but allergy shots, or immunotherapy, are the best way to manage allergies long-term and with the least amount of medication. Immunotherapy involves routine injections of small amounts of allergens under the skin or drops placed under your tongue. Through this process, your body can adjust to the allergen slowly, resulting in fewer symptoms when you encounter the allergen in your daily life.
At first, you will receive immunotherapy once a week until you reach what is known as a ‘maintenance dose’. After that, your treatment will move to once a month. After 1-3 years of immunotherapy, your allergy symptoms will be greatly reduced or eliminated.
Allergy testing and Immunotherapy services can greatly improve your quality of life, especially during seasonal changes. Find out more about Avance Care’s allergy services here.