Allergy Testing and Treatment
When to Consider Allergy Testing
Some patients’ allergies cannot be controlled with conservative measures like environmental control or common allergy medications. They may experience multi-season symptoms or suffer severe allergic flare-ups, making them miserable for weeks or months out of every year. Allergy testing can be an extremely helpful next step in these cases.
An allergy test equips you and your physician with the knowledge of what you’re allergic to and how severe each sensitivity is. This can help optimize environmental control and help your physician construct an allergy action plan. The test also opens the door to allergy immunotherapy (shots or sublingual drops) should they become necessary to definitively treat your symptoms.
How Is Allergy Testing Performed?
The Metro Sinus allergy department tests your skin’s sensitivity to the 30+ airborne allergens most prevalent in the bi-state area, including tree, grass and weed pollen, molds, dust mite and pet dander.
Our tests are specifically designed to detect even your mild clinically significant allergies. You will know your results immediately and will receive a report detailing your level of sensitivity to each allergen.
These results help your physician formulate a personalized treatment plan. This may include anything from avoidance measures and medication to more curative measures like immunotherapy.
What Is Allergy Immunotherapy?
(Allergy Shots & Drops)Those with more severe, multi-season allergies may benefit from allergy immunotherapy. Immunotherapy boasts better symptom control than medication because they treat your allergies at the source, essentially training your immune system to tolerate and ignore allergens rather than fight them.
Immunotherapy involves introducing small amounts of allergenic protein to the bloodstream, either through small weekly shots or daily sublingual (under the tongue) allergy drops. Over time, the body learns tolerance of the allergen and stops mounting an inflammatory reaction each time it is encountered in the environment.
Patients usually notice a substantial reduction in allergy symptoms after just a few months on shots, and usually can start to wean some of their allergy medications. The benefits and symptom control of immunotherapy are proven to become permanent after some time on shots, after which they can be stopped–forever.
Why Should I Get Immunotherapy at Metro Sinus?
Metro Sinus has the largest allergy immunotherapy program in St. Charles County, with thousands of patients active in the program. We believe this is true because we deliver expert care while making it as convenient as possible.
The first months of the program are the escalation phase, when shots are getting stronger each week. These shots are given during our daily walk-in allergy shot hours with no appointment necessary. You can choose a different day each week if it works for your schedule, and you can rest assured we focus on efficiency so each treatment fits into your busy schedule.
Once you have fully escalated to full-strength shots, you are said to be in the maintenance phase of your treatment. Most offices mandate you receive your maintenance shots in the office, every week, for years on end. At Metro Sinus, many of our patients graduate to home immunotherapy–the ultimate convenience.
Treatment becomes even more convenient when you choose sublingual immunotherapy, or allergy drops. These are administered every day under the tongue, but are done entirely at home. Need another treatment vial? We can even mail it to you.
If your allergies are bad enough that medications no longer control them, there is hope. Contact us to make an appointment with Dr. Conoyer or Dr. Boone to learn more about how a personalized allergy treatment plan can permanently change your life for the better.