ALLERGY TREATMENT

ASPIRIN DESENSITIZATION

Aspirin intolerance is usually seen in patients with chronic sinusitis, nasal polyps, and asthma. Symptoms of these respiratory reactions include wheezing, sneezing, eye watering and sometimes skin sensations/rash. Some reports show fatal reactions to aspirin and ibuprofen.

Aspirin Desensitization is used to treat patients with respiratory reactions to aspirin or related medications (such as ibuprofen).

Learn more about Aspirin Desensitization

AVOIDANCE

The first step in allergy treatment is avoidance. The degree of difficulty in achieving total avoidance depends on the kind of allergy. Allergy skin testing will help show a person’s allergens. Dr. Tamayev has included a list of major allergens, their exposure risks and what to do to avoid them.

To reduce the effect of pollen allergies, minimize exposure to the outside air. This includes (but is not limited to):

Keeping windows closed at night
Keeping car windows closed when driving
Staying indoors when pollen count or humidity is high, and on windy days when pollen blows around
Staying away from fresh-cut grass

To reduce the effect of dust mite allergies:

Wash sheets, comforters, and pillows in hot water (>130°F) weekly.
Replace old mattresses and pillows
Avoid storing items under the bed
Replace carpets with hardwood, vinyl or tile flooring
Keep air of the house dry and cool, with humidity less than 40% if possible, and temperature below 70°F

ALLERGY IMMUNOTHERAPY

Allergy immunotherapy is a treatment in which a patient is injected with small amounts of an allergen on a regular basis. The doses are slowly increased over time, causing the patient’s immune system to become less and less sensitive to the allergen. This type of therapy is also called “allergy shots.”

When people have allergies, their blood contains high levels of Immunoglobulin E (abbreviated IgE), an allergic antibody. IgE is activated by an allergen (ragweed, cat, dust mites, etc.), and then binds itself to “mast” cells that will then release histamine. Histamine is the chemical directly responsible for your allergy symptoms – sneezing, swelling, allergy cough, congestion, etc.

Immunotherapy is a long-term commitment of up to five years (or more) of treatment. The results are slow and gradual, but most patients do notice an improvement in allergy symptoms within six months of starting this allergy treatment.

Immunotherapy is recommended for patients with significant allergy symptoms that last at least six weeks out of each year. It is also considered for patients with asthma, frequent sinusitis, or allergies to insect stings. Because of the time required and the risk associated with immunotherapy, it is not recommended for patients with mild allergies. It is also not approved in the US for people who have food allergies.

Learn more about Allergy Immunotherapy

OVER THE COUNTER ALLERGY MEDICATIONS

Many of you know the symptoms: sneezing, runny nose, allergy cough, itchy eyes. These are so irritating and so disruptive to your day. Dr. Tamayev is here to help determine what is causing your allergies and how best to treat them and even prevent them in the future. However, for quick relief, you may turn to over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medications before you can make it in for an appointment. Your allergist can help determine the cause of your allergic reactions by doing the appropriate allergy tests.

Here is some basic Information regarding OTC medications:

Many OTC medications were originally available by prescription only.
Just because a medication is OTC does not make it safer than a prescription.
Just because a medication requires a prescription does not make it more effective than an OTC product.
It is helpful to know the generic drug names in the table below, so that you can recognize each ingredient in different brand-name products and in multi-symptom products.
The active ingredients in brand-name and generic versions of a product are chemically the same, with the same efficacy and side effects.
Once you have determined the OTC ingredients that work best for you, you may be able to save money buying the generic version.

Read more about Over the Counter Allergy Medications

SUBLINGUAL ALLERGEN

Long developed and used in Europe as well as Canada, the United States has only recently had sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) commercially available. Ragweed (pollen) was the first allergen to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (US) followed by Grass (pollen).

Studies have shown that sublingual immunotherapy requires much more source material than regular allergy shots. Specialists in the United States have used allergen extracts made for injection and provided them to patients as drops for patients to use sublingually. As these extracts were not prepared for oral use, this is considered “off-label” use.

Learn more about Sublingual Allergen Desensitization