Maybe every spring you enter a period of wheezing, sneezing, and watery eyes. Or, perhaps you have to take great care to avoid certain foods in restaurants.
The world of allergies is far from a small one, as allergies affect more than 100 million Americans. And what many of these people have learned is that even though there’s no magic bullet that will cure allergies, there are plenty of treatments and best practices that can make a big difference.
As board-certified physicians who provide illness and injury care at Forest Urgent Care, Dr. Waiho Lum and Dr. Ping Wong are well-versed in the world of allergies and asthma. To give you an idea about your many options, we’ve pulled together a brief list of treatments and management strategies below.
Your body has a strong, built-in defense mechanism that jumps into action when it perceives a threat. Unfortunately, this mechanism can malfunction, which is what occurs when you have allergies — your body reacts to something harmless. And these reactions can range from a runny nose to life-threatening anaphylactic shock.
The main types of allergies include:
Pollen allergy is often referred to as seasonal rhinitis or hay fever.
If you suspect that you have one of these allergies, the best way to confirm that is through allergy testing, which we can arrange through our lab services. These findings go a long way toward helping you move forward with a solid treatment plan.
As we just mentioned, knowing exactly what you’re allergic to is the first step toward relief. Armed with this information, your first step in addressing your allergies is to manage your triggers.
Trigger management is easier for some allergies than others. For example, you can avoid peanuts more easily than you can pollen in the air. Still, knowing when you might have problems and taking steps to avoid that allergen is a great way to manage allergies.
Your next step is to make sure that your allergy toolkit is complete. Once we figure out which allergies you have, we can prescribe and recommend medications that help relieve your symptoms.
From potentially life-saving albuterol inhalers and epinephrine pens to over-the-counter antihistamines and decongestants, we can work with you to make sure you have the right tools and resources for handling your allergies.
We can also suggest some great techniques for preventing allergic reactions, such as using a nasal rinse to clean out your sinuses if you have hay fever. Or, you can take a daily antihistamine to stay one step ahead of your seasonal rhinitis symptoms.
If you’re tired of dealing with ongoing allergies, we can explore whether you might be a candidate for immunotherapy, a treatment in which small amounts of the allergen are introduced into your system to build up your immunity.
As you can see, there are different ways to treat and manage your allergies so they can take a backseat in your life.
For a more personalized plan of attack against allergies, contact us at our New York City office in Forest Hills, Queens. You can also visit our clinic during our hours of operation, which are Monday through Friday from 8am to 7pm as well as Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm.
