Allergy Specialist – Our body reacts to substances that are otherwise normally harmless, like food, pets, pollen, mold, and latex, in sensitive ways that sometimes lead to immune reactions ranging from mild to severe. This reaction is known as an allergic reaction, and these substances are referred to as allergens. Some allergens like bees, wasps, and insect stings can be dangerous to some degree, even in non-allergic people but can be life-threatening to people with diagnosed allergies.

Allergic symptoms manifest in different forms, which include a runny nose, itchiness, body rash, red and watery eyes, swollen body parts, and difficulty breathing. If you’re prone to allergies, you may experience one or more of these symptoms when exposed to allergens. Also, the amount of allergen you are exposed to may influence the degree to which you experience these symptoms.

But why do we have allergies at all? You can say allergies occur as a result of an overzealous immune system. For illustration, there’s nothing innately harmful about legumes like peanuts or animals like cats or dogs. 

But when people allergic to peanuts or cats come into contact with the plant protein in peanuts by way of ingestion or the animal dander by inhalation, the immune system perceives these substances as foreign and responds by producing antibodies, specifically Immunoglobulin (IgE) antibodies in attempts to launch an attack. 

This triggers the release of histamine, a hormone responsible for inflammatory responses and fighting pathogens, which is responsible for the allergy symptoms we experience.

Today, about 41.7% of American adults report one type of allergy. Depending on how adverse they are, when these symptoms appear, we usually allow them to run their course, refer to over-the-counter medication, or go to see a general medical practitioner for advice.

However, when you experience a serious allergic reaction and OTC medications can’t effectively relieve your condition, even a primary care physician would have to refer you to an allergy specialist.

What Is An Allergy Specialist?

An allergy specialist is essentially an allergist [also known as an immunologist] – a physician specializing in diagnosing, treating, and managing allergies and other immune problems. An allergist must comprehensively know how your body system fights infections to diagnose and treat allergies effectively.

According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology [AAAAI], specialization as an allergist in the United States requires, on average, nine years of further education and practice after completing a bachelor’s degree.

Upon completing a graduate degree, an allergist must undergo three years of residency training as a pediatrician or internal medicine practitioner and pass respective board-certified exams.

Afterward, they would need to undertake an additional two to three years of fellowship training in a certified immunology training program. After this, they must pass the American Board of Allergy and Immunology [ABAI] certification exam.

As you can imagine, being an allergist/immunologist is a sophisticated field that warrants careful consideration. This leads us to our next point of discussion – how do you find an allergy specialist to manage your allergy condition for the better?

Finding The Right Allergy Specialist

Before looking for a specialist, you may have already seen a Primary Healthcare professional for primary diagnosis. However, because your health and overall quality of life depend on it, it is crucial that you find an allergy specialist that ticks all the boxes for you while considering how comfortable you feel in their presence, medical costs, and their level of experience. Here are some important considerations to keep in mind.

Research Your Specialist Credentials

When choosing an allergist, certification from a recognized board is a criterion you should have at the top of your list. Board certification assures you that the doctor has completed the necessary training and is skilled and experienced in providing health care for immunological disorders and allergies.

During your research, you should also look into the doctor’s history of malpractice claims or disciplinary actions, if they have any. You can find all this information regarding your allergist’s med school training, certifications, and practice history on board or state websites.

Seek Referrals And Recommendations

Your Primary Healthcare professional would be a good place to start your search for an allergy specialist. They would be able to refer you to a certified specialist around your locality.

You can also ask for recommendations from family and friends who have had a similar allergy or immune condition in the past. After getting referrals, you should call the allergist’s office to book a consultation or interview with the doctor.

Consider Your Insurance Coverage

Depending on your insurance plan, seeking an allergy specialist may not be covered by your health insurance. It would help if you considered how much of your treatment your insurance provider would be able to cover and how much your out-of-pocket costs will be before deciding on an allergist. 

You may need to confirm with your immunologist if they accept your HMO and other considerations like the quality of the hospital or facility you choose for your treatment.

Read Online Reviews

You can understand a lot about how an allergist practices by reading reviews from previous patients online. You can do this before scheduling an appointment with your allergy specialist to resolve any questions you may have in mind when you visit the doctor’s office.

Reviews from other patients can tell you about the office environment, patient service, wait times, and appointment schedules, even before you leave the comfort of your home.

You can get answers to questions like how much time the doctor spends with patients, how hospitable the Medical Center is, and the level of trust patients have in the doctor’s capabilities.

Consider Their Experience

Practicing as an allergy specialist requires a considerable level of experience. The experience an allergist/immunologist has with a particular condition would determine how well suited they are to treat you and improve your condition effectively.

During your consultation, you can enquire about how many people the allergist has attended to in the past with your type of condition. You can also learn about possible complications you’ll likely face during the treatment.

Ask About Virtual Appointment

These days medical professionals can diagnose, treat, and prescribe medication to patients with mild selective conditions using telecommunications technologies like smartphones and computers. This is known as telehealth, a service many healthcare professionals offer patients to reduce the number of physical visits their patients have to go through.

Of course, telehealth is no replacement for an in-person doctor appointment. Still, it means fewer trips to the doctor’s office for you in cases like routine follow-ups or minor complaints.

What To Expect From An Allergy Specialist?

A trained and certified allergist takes a holistic approach to treating allergies. They would have a look into your medical history, family health history, and your lifestyle to put together diagnostic tests and treatment plans tailored to your condition. Here are a few questions to expect when you visit an allergist.

• How long have you had symptoms, and when did you start noticing them?
• Have you ever experienced anaphylactic shock?
• How did you treat the condition?
• Do you experience a runny nose, itchy skin, or watery eyes?
• What time of the year and in which environment do you usually experience these symptoms?
• Does your family have a history of asthma allergies or other immune conditions?

After this, the doctor may recommend allergy testing to confirm what allergies your body reacts to. One such test is a skin prick test which works by pricking your skin and applying a small quantity of the allergen in liquid form. If you’re reactive, this will be evidenced by a bump appearing on the skin area within minutes.

In other cases, the allergy specialists may ask for a blood test, requiring your blood sample to be taken and analyzed in the laboratory.

Treatment plans for allergy patients include:

• Medications, e.g., EpiPens and other preventive drugs
• Non-medical therapies, e.g., the use of face masks when in public places
•  Allergen avoidance – which involves staying away from places allergens are usually found in abundance, like flower gardens, in case of a pollen allergy.
• Immunotherapy – which involves controlled exposure to the allergen in minimal doses to build resistance

The Bottomline

Our body responds to allergens differently as we age and change our lifestyles. Therefore, you must seek an allergist with whom you can build a lasting relationship, someone you can regularly see to look for changes and update your treatment plan.

Kratz Allergy and Asthma, based in Port Richey, Florida, has an experienced allergist and immunologist of 23 years Dr. Jamie Kratz, MD. Get in touch for more information on everything allergy and book a consultation today.

A saying goes, “for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction”. Allergies are our body’s reaction to our immune system’s hypersensitivity to harmless substances perceived as harmful. 

Pet fur, flowers, dust, food, dander, and other allergens could cause a serious allergic reaction. Not everybody has allergies, but once you notice you do and you’ve ascertained the allergen, you should take appropriate measures for treatment. 

The hypersensitivity may cause serious symptoms like rashes, swelling, sneezing, shock, and even asthmatic symptoms. Allergy shots, also called allergy immunotherapy, refer to a long-term allergy treatment that helps your body get used to allergens. They are not a cure, but they reduce your symptoms drastically and might even eliminate the allergic reaction. 

What do I need to know before I take allergy shots?

You must take an allergy test to ascertain what allergen is causing your allergy. There are different ways to test for your allergy; run a test with a qualified healthcare provider to be sure it’s the right protocol for you and your health. There are skin tests, blood tests, or challenge tests.

Skin test: here, a small amount of the suspected allergen is applied by tapping the skin, scratching on the skin, or injected under the skin, and the area is observed for 15 minutes for a reaction. 

Blood Test: here, a finger prick of blood is examined for antibodies to fight against the allergen. 

Challenge test: here, to identify food allergies and sensitivities, certain foods known to cause symptoms are removed from your diet for a few weeks and reintroduced later so you will eat the food again, and then we test your body’s reaction. 

What happens next?

Once you know the allergen, your experienced Allergist (a doctor that diagnoses and treats allergies) will help you create a serum to nullify your allergic reaction. 

The serum is the injection treatment that will be administered for a long period, probably regularly, to help you build a tolerance or immunity to allergies. The treatment doesn’t take long and doesn’t hurt.

How should you prepare for your allergy shots, and what should you expect during the treatment?

First, set an appointment with the right healthcare provider, Kratz Allergy and Asthma, for your allergy treatment. Here, Dr. Jamie Kratz will talk to you about your symptoms and treatments filling you in with all the necessary information. 

You will be advised to avoid strenuous exercises before and after your treatment. You will be asked about your symptoms and how you’ve been managing them, if it occurs regularly or whatnot. You will also be asked if you are taking medications or herbs currently; these precautions and advice are to protect you from the adverse effects of the reaction of the allergy shots and your medications. Exercises speed your heart rate, meaning once the allergy shots are injected into your bloodstream, they will work at an accelerated speed. 

The shots contain just enough allergens to stimulate your immune system; the allergy shots have mild side effects, and exercises will increase the reaction rate. The allergy shots are meant for you to build the tolerance of your allergens and may even make your allergy go away. 

How often will you require an allergy shot? 

The allergy shots will be injected into your upper arm containing the allergen causing your allergy. The allergy shot is administered depending on the severity of your allergic reaction, and it involves different phases.

The Build-up phase

During the build-up phase, you will be under constant monitoring for adverse effects. The buildup phase is administered 2 to 4 times weekly for 3 to 6 months with a gradually increased dosage. 

You might choose to speed up your allergy shots with rush immunotherapy; this is the daily administration of increasing doses of allergens in the allergy shots, this is a quick way to get results, but it puts you at risk of several allergic reactions. Your doctor will check on you closely during the treatment if you have a bad allergic reaction. To help prevent a response, you may be prescribed medications before the shots.

The Maintenance phase

Next is the maintenance phase, where your time for shots will be spaced, meaning you will now get a once-a-month dose for 3 to 5 years. 

With this treatment, you will have tolerance for your allergic reaction, and if you haven’t, you’d need to consult your allergist for a new treatment plan. 

What happens after taking the shots? 

You will be required to rest for 30 minutes, and then you may be asked to go home. 

At home, avoid anything that may trigger your allergic reaction; smoking, dirty environment, pets, and poor ventilation. 

Stay indoors, close windows to avoid dust or insects from coming in, spray your rooms with insecticide, use air conditioners and air dehumidifiers, eat a healthy meal, avoid your allergens, wash your beddings, clothes, duvet, keep pets outside your rooms if you are allergic to pet fur, and clean dirty surfaces.

As mentioned earlier, allergy shots have mild side effects like swelling, soreness, redness, increased temperature, and itching on the arm where the allergy shot was injected should disappear within 4 to 8 hours. 

When should I call my Allergist? 

The effects may be mild or worse; sneezing, throat swelling, chest tightness, low blood pressure, shortness of breath, rashes, and hives; If you get these symptoms after you leave, call your allergist, go back to your doctor’s office, or to the nearest emergency room.

Do allergy shots work for everyone? 

Allergy shots are for people with chronic allergies, it is not proven to work on food, drugs, and latex allergies, but it has greatly helped people with chronic allergies like bee stings, dust, dust mite, pollen, and pest dangers.

People who have used this treatment experienced drastic changes in their reactions to allergies. The symptoms are more tolerable as they go about their daily life without worry.

Conclusion

Take control of your health today, and find out why you are always sneezing when offered flowers, petting the cat, or have a rash after eating a certain food.

Allergies should never be taken lightly; they have mild to severe symptoms that can cause death. Book an appointment with Kratz Allergy & Asthma today.

Millions of US citizens have food allergic reactions every year. They occur when your immune system triggers abnormal responses to certain foods. Some of the main food allergies include peanuts, cow milk, eggs, shellfish, and soybeans.

Some of these reactions have minor symptoms and some major symptoms. Symptoms vary from person to person and depending on the food causing the allergy, and they can range from sneezing, nasal congestion, rashes, and ear infection.

Anaphylaxis is the most severe symptom, which impairs your breathing and sends your body into shock. It is life-threatening and results in approximately 150 deaths yearly in the US.

While there is currently no standard cure for food allergies, the best way is to avoid certain foods. Some of the measures you can take include:

Read food labels

When buying food, it’s obvious to look at labels to identify the ingredients in the foods you buy. The 2004 Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) states that manufacturers list the common foods that cause food allergies on their labels as major food allergens.

They may list those ingredients with their name, like milk, or following an ingredient name, like flour (wheat).

In addition to looking at the ingredients, you should also look for statements like ‘may contain’ or ‘processed in a facility that also makes….’ While these statements are voluntary for manufacturers to add, they help you avoid any risk of an allergic reaction.

Avoid cross-reactivity and cross-contact

Cross-contact happens when you unintentionally transfer an allergen to food without the allergen directly or indirectly. It might happen, for example, by using a knife previously used to spread peanut butter to spread jam.

Some tips to avoid cross-contact include:

• Remove all the foods you are allergic to from your pantry, freezer, or refrigerator
• Clean your cooking apparatus, including stovetop, utensils, and oven, with soap and water
• Have spate food preparation or storage areas if you share your house with someone
• If you are cooking a lot of food, cook your safe foods first
• Never share food
• Cover allergy-safe foods
• If you are eating out, inform the restaurant personnel about your food allergies

Cross-reactivity happens when different foods have the same proteins, causing your body to treat them as one. While some people have isolated food allergies, some are allergic to a particular group like fatty fish or finned fish, meaning they have to avoid all food from that group.

Try an oral food challenge or skin test to determine whether you are allergic to different foods in the same group.

Recognize your symptoms

Identifying your allergy symptoms early could be the key to saving your life or preventing it from escalating, especially anaphylaxis, which can be hard to identify. Some signs to look out for include symptoms involving your soft mucosal nose lining, skin, gastrointestinal tract, mouth, impaired breathing, abdominal cramps, or a drop in blood pressure that causes weakness or fainting.

Other food allergies symptoms can affect your body parts in the following ways:

• Eyes- Redness, tears, itching, or swelling
• Skin- Redness, hives, itching, rash, or red bumps
• Lower respiratory- Wheezing, chest tightness, cough, or shortness of breath
• Upper respiratory- Sneezing, runny nose, hoarseness, nasal congestion, itching, or dry cough
• Gastrointestinal- Reflux, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, bloody stool, or abdominal pain
• Mouth- Swelling of the palate, tongue, or lips
• Cardiovascular- Dizziness, fainting, slow or rapid heartbeat, or low blood pressure

Prepare for emergency action

If you suffer from a life-threatening food allergies, ensure everybody around you knows what to do if you get an allergic reaction. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology has an anaphylaxis emergency action plan that you can download.

Food Allergy Awareness

May is food allergy month which means that it’s time to spread as much awareness about food allergies as possible. Did you know that at least 50 million Americans today are struggling with allergies? Additionally, most of the people suffering from allergies also struggle with asthma. What’s most shocking is the fact that there are still many people out there who could be struggling with an allergy without their knowledge. Are you one of them? Keep reading to find out.

Signs you may have a food allergy without knowing it

If you have never been diagnosed with allergies before, it can be difficult to identify an allergy attack right away. Luckily for you, we are spreading awareness about allergy infections during this food allergy month so that you can avoid suffering unnecessarily. Some of the subtle allergy signs you might be underestimating include:

Constant congestion

Do you have a nasal congestion that keeps recurring? If so, you could be having an allergy attack without knowing it. Congestion is the most overlooked allergy symptom yet it’s one of the biggest indicators of an allergy infection. Frequent congestion in young adults and kids should not be ignored because if left untreated, it could develop into allergic bronchitis, which increases the risk of developing asthma.

Therefore, if you have a congestion that keeps coming back, we recommend you book an appointment with us at Kratz Allergy & Asthma, so that we can check it out.

Cold and ear infection

Another allergy symptom you should be on the lookout for during this food allergy month is a persistent cold and ear infection. If your nose is chronically stuffed, it makes you more vulnerable to ear infections. Additionally, what could seem like a chronic sinus infection could in fact be a chronic allergic inflammation that is causing the nasal congestion.

Have you been having a recurring ear infection that is usually followed by congestion? Call us today to book an allergy test appointment.

Undiagnosed food allergy

If you have an undiagnosed food sensitivity or allergy, then you could be suffering allergy attacks without your knowledge. Food allergies in particular can lead to anaphylaxis, which can quickly turn life threatening without medical intervention.

During this food allergy month, food allergies are a trending topic in many health circles because there are many categories of food today e.g. dairy, legumes, and gluten. There is always something new to be on the lookout for. Although food allergies are frequent in children, it is possible to develop food allergies at any age.

The most common foods that may trigger an allergy at any age include:

• Shellfish
• Eggs
• Tree nuts
• Dairy
• Wheat
• Fish
• Soy
• Peanuts

Signs you could be developing a food allergy without your knowledge include:

• An itchy or tingly mouth
• Feeling nauseated or vomiting after a meal
• Diarrhea or abdominal pain
• Feeling light headed or dizzy
• Difficulty swallowing food
• Itchy eyes
• Sneezing
• Skin rash

If you realize that you usually experience some of the above symptoms after taking a particular type of food, please visit us today for a check up to confirm whether you indeed have a food allergy.