An estimated fifty million North Americans are affected by allergies. Nasal allergies affect approximately 35 million people and Asthma about 15 million people.
Allergies can develop at any age, usually in children but symptoms can arise in adulthood for the first time also. Asthma has a bimodal incidence with peaks in children and in sixth and seventh decades of life. A person’s risk of developing allergies is related to parents’ allergy history and the exposure to the allergens in the environment.
Indoor allergens like dust mites, animal dander, mold or pollen can cause the symptoms of runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, itching in eyes, ears and nose and post nasal drip which presents as frequent throat clearing. These allergies are usually present year around.
Other allergy symptoms can be cough, wheezing, shortness of breath, watery itchy eyes, rash on skin and in severe cases hives and allergic shock. The symptoms are in response to food or environmental allergies.
Skin testing for allergies is a simple way to identify the potential allergens and is easily done in an office setting. Certain medications need to be stopped prior to the testing to avoid masking the allergens. Based on the results of the allergy testing, immunotherapy is initiated against the specific allergy triggers.