Your Relief Blog

Every year, over 100 million people throughout the United States experience allergy symptoms. Sometimes, these symptoms are mild and can be easily managed. Other allergic reactions may be more severe, resulting in a significant impact to your overall health and wellness. That’s why seeing an allergy specialist can be critically important. An allergy specialist will be able to help you determine just what you’re allergic to and explore the best ways to manage your symptoms.

At Dakota Allergy & Asthma, the treatment process typically begins with an allergy consultation. During your consultation, you’ll be seen by one of our three specialists. At the end of your appointment, you will likely have a much better idea of what you’re allergic to (and what you’re not) and how you can find relief!

Understanding Allergy Consultations

In many ways, an allergy consultation is like any other visit to a care provider. There’s a little bit of discussion, some testing or diagnostics, and then some time to talk about what your results mean.

In the case of allergy consultations, you’re making an appointment because of a very specific health concern (usually this occurs when allergy symptoms are impacting your quality of life). You’re looking for a treatment or a solution–and identifying your allergens is usually the first step on the journey.

During an allergy consultation, your specialists will be looking to identify which allergens you may be allergic to. Allergens are specific substances that cause your immune system to activate, leading to a range of symptoms. For some, allergy symptoms include sneezing, itchy eyes, and a runny nose. For others, symptoms may be more severe, including life-threatening anaphylaxis. By the end of your consultation, you’ll have a better idea of what’s causing your symptoms, how to avoid allergens, and how to keep your symptoms under control.

Preparing for Your Appointment

As your appointment with Dakota Allergy & Asthma approaches, there are a few things you can do to prepare (and, in the process, create the best experiences possible). These are steps that can make the overall process run more smoothly from start to finish. Among them are the following:

• Discuss medications: Talk with your provider to see if there are any medications you should discontinue before your visit, such as antihistamines or antidepressants. Be sure to ask when you should pause your meds and the safest way to do so. You can also ask about the best way to resume any medications.
• Gather information: Write down notes about your symptoms, your family history, and any other information you think may be important. After all, successful allergy management is about much more than simply testing your skin. Communication about additional information may be very important in generating an accurate diagnosis. Be sure to gather any documents (such as past provider visit summaries) as instructed by DAA staff or that you feel may be helpful.
• Write down questions you have: This is good advice for any visit to the doctor. There’s a lot of information to take in during a visit, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Writing down questions can help make sure none of your concerns are forgotten!

Fill Out Intake Documents & Forms

In order to make your office visit proceed smoother and more quickly, you can fill out several important intake forms before your visit. We typically instruct new patients to fill out:

• Patient Questionnaire
• New Patient Form
• Any specific forms required by your allergies (ex: Hives/Itching Questionnaire)
• Any other forms as instructed by the receptionist.

Filling out these forms ahead of time can help your appointment proceed faster and more smoothly.

The Initial Screening

Before you start directly testing for allergies, there’s an important initial screening process that occurs. This process is focused on assessing your overall wellness, family history, and more. At Dakota Allergy & Asthma, it usually proceeds like this:

• Vitals screening: A member of the Dakota Allergy & Asthma staff will begin by taking your vitals, such as body temperature, blood pressure, and more.

• Medical and Family History: Your provider will start by gathering history regarding your specific symptoms, the timing of exposures and symptoms, plus your overall wellness and family history. This includes any medications you may currently be taking (including over-the-counter medications), previous provider visits, and more. A detailed medical and family history is critical to an accurate diagnosis.
• Discussing what happens next: Your provider will outline your next steps, address any initial questions you might have, and prepare you for allergy testing.

It’s important for providers and patients to communicate as clearly as possible during this stage. (That’s why writing down all of that information ahead of time can be helpful!) Likewise, if you have questions at this stage, it’s important to ask them and get the answers you need. At the end of the initial conversation, your provider will typically order your specific allergy testing if it is indicated. At Dakota Allergy & Asthma, this is usually performed in the same room as your initial screening occurred. 

Allergy Testing

Once the initial screening is over, a nurse will come in and perform your allergy test. Allergy can be caused by IgE reactions or by T-cell reactions.  The T-cell related allergy is allergic contact dermatitis requires patch testing (a 5 day testing process). IgE gives allergic rhinitis, asthma, hives, and anaphylaxis problems. In broad terms, there are two types of allergy tests available to patients to further evaluate inhaled or food allergy:

• Skin Test: These tests are performed on either the arm or back and they can use either the prick method or the intradermal method. During the prick method, a small amount of allergen is applied to the skin and then the skin is pricked. With the intradermal method, a small amount of allergen is injected just beneath the skin. The purpose of both test types is to produce a small, controlled allergic response ​​that shows you are making allergy (IgE) antibody that recognizes the tested allergen. Your specialist will look for very specific reactions visible on your skin. It typically takes about twenty minutes or so to see results and determine what your allergy triggers might be.
• Blood Test: The other option for the IgE type allergy testing is a blood test. This is performed via a blood draw. The advantage of a blood test is that patients do not have to stop antihistamine medications.  The downsides include the blood draw, increased cost, and greater problems with interpretation of results.

Which test is best for you and your needs will be discussed by you and your provider during your initial screening.

How Test Results are Interpreted

When performing allergy skin tests, the specialists at Dakota Allergy & Asthma can test for allergens. But there are two substances that will nearly always be present: a positive control (histamine) and a negative control (glycerine or saline). When looking at the results of your test, any reactions will be compared to the positive and negative control.

In most cases, any substance you are allergic to will result in local swelling plus redness or itching, much like a mosquito bite. This response is then measured and recorded. The allergist then must interpret the results in relation to your symptoms as not all positive tests are linked to a problem. Understanding how you react individually to an allergen is absolutely critical to developing an effective allergy management and treatment plan. As a result, your treatment plan will be tailored to your results.

If you have seasonal allergies, your treatment may take one form; peanut allergies may necessitate a different approach.

Discussing Treatment Options

When it comes to allergy management, knowing the difference between what you’re allergic to and what you’re sensitive to is critically important. Sensitivities may bother you in a wide variety of ways–but they aren’t necessarily reactions powered by your immune system and immunotherapy won’t lessen your symptoms. Your allergy management plan will typically focus primarily on allergies and allergens.

Once your skin test is complete, you and your provider discuss your results and develop a treatment plan. What your treatment looks like will vary depending on the severity and prevalence of your symptoms. In general, however, treatment options will include the following:

• Medications: For some, your specialist may recommend specific medications to aid in managing your allergy symptoms. Sometimes these are over-the-counter medications. In other cases, they may be prescription medications. This will depend on your symptoms and the nature of your allergies. It’s important to take these medications as directed.
• Immunotherapy: For some patients, immunotherapy–whether allergy shots or sublingual tabs–may present a long-term solution for managing allergy symptoms. Allergy shots or tabs work by slowly building your tolerance to allergens, and they can be tailored for your specific triggers. This makes immunotherapy a particularly potent way of combating allergy symptoms, including seasonal allergy symptoms. Limited food treatments are also available.
• Lifestyle changes: For some patients, the best course of action may simply be to make certain lifestyle changes. Those with food allergies can avoid that specific food. Those with seasonal allergies may be able to avoid high pollen counts. (This is much easier once you know what you’re allergic to.)

Your provider at Dakota Allergy & Asthma will work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan, so you can feel confident moving forward that you’ll know what to do with your symptoms.

Don’t Forget to Ask Questions

It’s natural for patients to have concerns and questions during their consultation. Often, patients are concerned about the best ways to manage symptoms, what to do if symptoms grow worse, or what the next steps might be. If you feel like you have not gotten the answers you need, you can ask those as before your consultation ends. Communication is critical to a successful outcome.

Allergists can help offer reassurance, placing your allergies (or lack thereof) in a helpful context. These conversations can help you feel good and healthy moving forward!

Get Allergy Answers

In many ways, an allergy consultation is a search for answers. By examining your family history, your wellness, and testing your reactions, your allergist will be able to help you better understand your allergy symptoms. Once you know what’s causing your allergies, you’ll be in a better position to manage your symptoms.

Do you want to get to the bottom of your allergies? Contact Dakota Allergy & Asthma today to schedule an appointment–and start feeling relief from your allergy symptoms!