- Allergy injections are just for kids. Not true! Immunotherapy can be effective at any age. Ask your doctor if allergy injections are appropriate for your treatment.
- People with asthma can’t play sports. Jerome Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee both were diagnosed with asthma, making that claim erroneous. Work with your doctor to identify your triggers and determine the best treatment to get you off the sidelines and back in the game!
- You outgrow your allergies. Actually, the opposite can occur: adults sometimes experience onset of allergies later in life or a recurrence of childhood allergy that seemed to have cleared. It is true that some allergies can fade but others will require a lifetime of treatment and management.
- You only need medications during an attack/ flare up. Many asthma treatments control symptoms before you even feel them. While each patient is different, your doctor can determine what and when medications are appropriate. In some cases, if you wait too long to medicate, it may be too late to get relief.
- Regular exposure to asthma triggers reduces attacks. This is a dangerous myth fueled by the misguided belief patients can build a tolerance on their own by repeated exposure to their asthma triggers. Avoidance is often the best management strategy when used in conjunction with a doctor-directed medication plan. For example, if you’re allergic to dog dander, Fido may have to move out.
- You are allergic to any foods that make you feel bad after consuming. Part of the reason it seems like more and more people suffer from food allergies is a result of inaccurate self-diagnosis. Food intolerances and sensitivities are not true allergies and worse, food poisoning is often mistaken to be an allergic reaction. Skin testing can reveal if you have an actually food allergy.
Richmond Allergy & Asthma Specialists
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Allergist in Richmond, VA We do it right
Need to consult an allergy doctor? Existing and new patients can schedule appointments.
Maybe you aren’t sure if you need an allergist. Review the common symptoms and conditions below that we treat.
- Allergic rhinitis (Hay fever)
- Asthma
- Drug allergies
- Eczema/ Atopic dermatitis
- Food allergies
- Headaches
- Hives
- Itchy or watery eyes
- Nasal congestion
- Persistent cough
- Postnasal drip
- Recurring ear, sinus and respiratory infections
- Reflux/ Irritable bowel
- Sneezing
- Stinging insect allergies
Skin testing is a method of testing for allergic antibodies. We will introduce small amounts of suspected allergens into the skin, noting the development of a reaction. The results are read 15- 20 minutes after the application of the allergen. Interpretation of skin tests requires the allergist’s skill in matching the results with the patient’s history of allergy-like symptoms.
We offer a wide range of allergens for testing, including foods, environmental inhalants, and select medications. What you are tested for will be determined after speaking with our providers, based on your history and symptoms.
Immunotherapy, or allergy injections, is a treatment used to relieve allergy symptoms of allergic rhinitis (hay fever) or allergic asthma by administering injections of substances such as pollen, mold spores, dust mites, animal dander and insects to which an individual has been found to be allergic by skin testing. The injections build up a patient’s immunity to allergens and generally, patients find a substantial reduction of their symptoms and need for medication.
You should consider immunotherapy if you are unable to avoid specific allergens, frequently miss school and work because of symptoms, and/or get inadequate relief from medications or experience troublesome side effects from those medications.
