Are your allergies making your life miserable? If you have seasonal allergies, then your symptoms are likely starting to bother you. Allergy symptoms range from mild runny nose and nasal congestion to itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, headaches, and fatigue.
People who have allergies only to pollens tend to experience these symptoms from March to November.
The best way to diagnose environmental allergies, in addition to obtaining a good history and physical examination, is usually skin testing. You can get skin tested at one of the best allergists in Novi and the metro Detroit area in Michigan, where you can get tested for many different environmental allergens including animals, pollens, mold, dust mites, and many other allergens.
There are many different approaches to treating your allergies. Approaches usually start by following avoidance measures depending on your sensitivities and environment. This usually helps alleviate the symptoms but most of the time has to be accompanied with medical treatment.
Medical management usually only manages your symptoms and does not treat your sensitivities. Medical management includes nasal sprays, allergy pills, and eye drops. Sometimes you might need an inhaler if allergies are triggering asthma symptoms.
The only way to cure symptoms of environmental allergies would be to start allergy shots. Allergy shots are the only way to cure allergies. Allergy shots are the most evidence-based natural way to treat your allergies. Usually extract vials are compounded specifically for each patient based on their sensitivities. Sensitives are obtained from proper skin testing and sometimes blood testing as well. These vials are created from the extracts of the allergens. They are then diluted many times to give the patient the most diluted form. The purpose of diluting these extracts is to desensitize the patient while keeping it safe.
Usually, the shots are given 1 week in between and take a few months to build up and reach the most concentrated or maintenance vial. When the maintenance vial is reached, the patient will only have to come once every month.
It is recommended that you continue this treatment for 3-5 years to achieve a cure of your allergies. Most patients who complete 5 years of shots will be able to move on in life without major allergy symptoms requiring multiple medications.
Allergy shots are generally well—tolerated and safe if they are performed in the right setting and instructions are followed. Risks associated with allergy shots include local injection reactions such as itching and swelling. It also includes systemic reactions that are usually rare but include: generalized itching, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, hives, drop in blood pressure. These reactions tend to be rare. In order to keep that process as safe as possible, we ask the patients to wait 30 minutes after each shot in order to monitor for these types of a reaction.
For more information about allergy skin testing, please click on this link: https://www.aaaai.org/tools-for-the-public/conditions-library/allergies/allergy-testing
If you have any questions about what you are allergic to and what is the best way to treat your allergies, please contact The Allergy Suite in Novi, MI for any questions.
