Specialists in Elgin accurately diagnose symptoms to develop effective allergy treatment
Four million workdays are lost each year due to allergic rhinitis or hay fever. Food allergies are responsible for a reported 30,000 emergency room visits annually. Allergens such as peanuts and milk often cause a severe reaction: anaphylaxis. Antibiotics such penicillin and winged insects such as honeybees and wasps are common triggers for this life-threatening condition, which causes airway constriction and difficulty breathing.
Asthma often goes hand in hand with allergies. This chronic lung condition is responsible for thousands of deaths each year. Other allergy-related complications include:
- Eczema, a type of chronic skin inflammation
- Sinusitis
- Greater risk of ear and lung infections
- Increased risk of fungal sinus and lung-related conditions
These complications underscore the need for treatment. Why suffer with the ongoing sneezing, itching, and sleepless nights? Likewise, allergic reactions that started as nuisances can evolve and become more severe over time.
Don’t accept anything less than an allergist
You wouldn’t go to an accountant for legal advice or a mortgage broker for a car loan, so why trust management of your allergic symptoms to a medical practitioner lacking specialized training and experience in allergic conditions?
Dr. Noga Askenazi are skilled in the diagnosis and management of allergies, asthma, and related immunodeficiency disorders.
Proper diagnosis is the cornerstone of effective treatment. The allergists use a range of tests to uncover the cause of your disruptive and distressing symptoms. The doctors offer a variation on the common skin prick test, the skin patch test. Should the results of skin testing be inconclusive, they offer blood tests.
A food allergy that can’t be identified with skin tests may be detected by safely introducing small amounts of the suspected allergen in a controlled environment, so the doctors can monitor reactions to suspect foods.
Since allergies and asthma so often coexist, lung function tests may be recommended. A spirometry device measures a number of functional indicators to pinpoint the source of breathing troubles, including but not limited to asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema.
Specialized treatment for symptom relief
Dr. Askenazi will develop a treatment plan that works, partly because it is based on diagnostics that accurately identify the nature of your allergies and related conditions. You may be familiar with over-the-counter medications and products to relieve your symptoms. The specialists may prescribe quick relief or long-term control drugs, possibly in conjunction with other treatments such as:
- Preventive, lifestyle approaches – When possible, ways to avoid or minimize exposure to the offending allergen will be recommended. For food allergies, options may be limited to avoidance and epinephrine delivery devices used in the event of emergencies.
- Immunotherapy – The doctors can retrain your immune system to no longer perceive the allergen as a harmful invader. By exposing you to tiny amounts of the offender via allergy shots injected in a controlled environment, your body builds tolerance to these substances.
For effective treatment, schedule an appointment with your allergy treatment specialists in Elgin. Call the Advanced Allergy & Asthma Associates and Food Allergy Center of Illinois at (847) 888-8802.
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