How does avoiding allergens support allergy treatment?
You can significantly reduce your allergy symptoms by avoiding your allergens, if possible but this is not always practical or realistic. Reducing your exposure to pollen, dust mites, mold, pet dander, and chemicals may be the only treatment you need if you have mild allergies. Eliminating specific foods is an essential treatment for food allergies.
How do medications fit in my allergy treatment?
Whether you use over-the-counter or prescription-strength medications, they can block the chemicals that trigger allergy symptoms, relieve a congested nose, and reduce inflammation.
If you have an allergy that puts you at risk for an anaphylactic reaction, your provider also prescribes self-injectable epinephrine for you to keep with you.
How is immunotherapy different from other allergy treatments?
Avoiding allergens and taking medications can go a long way toward reducing your symptoms, but they don’t treat your allergies. By comparison, immunotherapy addresses the source of your allergies — your immune system — and changes the way it reacts to allergens.
Immunotherapy works by carefully exposing you to small doses of your allergen. Over time, your immune system gets used to the allergen, becomes desensitized, and stops causing allergic reactions.
Why would my allergy treatment include dietary changes or supplements?
If you have a food allergy, you may need to follow an elimination or rotation diet to reduce the inflammatory process that your allergenic foods create. An elimination diet removes all foods containing your allergen. During a rotation diet, your health educator designs a program that is based upon your food allergies/sensitivities and has you eat your safely tested foods every two (2) to four (4) days.
After your provider performs micronutrient testing, he recommends supplements to eliminate deficiencies, boost your immune system, and support your overall health.
If you have questions about allergy treatments, call Allergy & Environmental Treatment Center, LLC, or schedule an appointment online.
