Who is an allergist?
People worldwide suffer from allergies ranging from food to pollen to certain medicines. Generally, they are caused by an overreaction in the immune system to substances called allergens.
Allergists are medical professionals, commonly known as immunologists, who help manage, prevent, and treat allergies. They can treat conditions such as hay fever, asthma, food allergies, eczema, psoriasis, and specific sinus and ear infections. Allergists use a variety of tests to discover the allergen causing an allergic reaction in the body, its severity, and the best course of treatment.
Allergists undergo extensive training in immunology to learn about the immune system and how to manage our bodies' susceptibility to allergens. Their education begins with four years of medical school and three years of residency. After residency, students must pass an American Board of Internal Medicine exam to get certified. In addition, they complete a two-year allergy and immunology fellowship authorized by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology.
How can an allergist help you?
Allergists possess expertise in diagnosing and treating problems with your immune system. They can:
- Confirm if you are allergic: An allergist can ascertain whether you have an allergy or not. For example, sometimes, you may be experiencing only an infection, not an allergy. Once you receive a confirmation, you can seek appropriate treatment.
- Help you understand your triggers: Allergies are often caused by particular stimuli. Thus, you can comfortably avoid such things or factors if you know what you are allergic to and what triggers a reaction. Your allergist can help you develop this awareness.
- Create a treatment plan: A treatment plan will assist you in determining the way forward once you have a diagnosis. It usually includes what type of medication to take and when to take it, what foods to avoid because of your allergies, and how to prepare for and respond to a severe allergic reaction.
- Ensure you have the correct medication: Over-the-counter medications can generally help with allergies. Some people, however, may require prescription medication to treat their symptoms. Your doctor can guide you on your medications and ensure you have the necessary prescriptions to obtain them if needed.
- Keep your symptoms under control: Your allergist can help you control or reduce the frequency of your symptoms, like runny nose and itchy eyes, and even prevent an allergic reaction from developing. This can help maintain and improve your overall quality of life.
When should you see an allergist?
A cough, recurrent hay fever, head congestion, or chronic sickness can all indicate an allergic reaction. While these symptoms are shared across multiple health illnesses, they can be considered allergic reactions if they occur frequently around a specific product, food item, or surroundings. On showing any such symptoms, you must promptly visit an allergist for diagnosis and treatment, if required.
Other experiences that may be signs for seeing an allergist include chest tightness, shortness of breath, and recurrent wheezing at night or after specific activities. These symptoms may suggest asthma. Nonetheless, seeing a professional and immediately beginning treatment is advisable.
How does an allergist carry out allergy testing?
An allergist may use different types of tests, depending on the type of allergy they are looking for, such as:
- Prick or scratch tests on the skin: The allergist applies a small amount of allergen to an applicator in this test. Then, they softly scratch your skin with the applicator and wait to see if it provokes a reaction.
- Blood tests: Your blood sample is tested at a lab to check if you have allergy symptoms to specific substances.
- Food challenge tests: During this test, the allergist administers increasing amounts of food to which you may be allergic. They keep an eye out for an allergic reaction.
In addition to allergy testing, your appointment with an allergist near you may involve the following:
- Spirometry or pulmonary function testing: This is a type of lung function test allergists perform to determine how well your lungs work. It assists in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma.
- Instructions on how to use medical equipment: For severe allergic reactions, your provider may prescribe and illustrate using epinephrine injectors, inhalers, and nebulizers for asthma.
What are the different types of allergies?
Most allergic reactions occur in the nose, eyes, lungs, lining of the stomach, throat, and skin. However, allergic reactions can occur anywhere in the body based on your immune system's sensitivity to allergens. Let us go through the different types of allergies.
- Allergic rhinitis: It occurs when the allergy develops inside the nose. A few common symptoms of allergic rhinitis are sneezing, a runny nose, and itching in the nose, eyes, or the root of the mouth. Allergic rhinitis, also called hay fever, is triggered by pollens or outdoor molds, mainly during the spring. Further, it can also occur from house dust mites, household pets, and allergens in the workplace or school.Â
- Asthma: It occurs due to inflammation in the linings of bronchial tubes caused by airway muscle spasms that block airflow. Excess mucus can also sometimes cause airway blockage. A few common symptoms are restricted breathing, tightness in the chest, and cough. Although the symptoms are mostly mild, severe attacks can be life-threatening.
- Atopic and contact dermatitis or skin allergies: These are caused by allergens like insect stings, particular food items, animals, and chemicals. These reactions may take hours or days to develop and can worsen due to stress.
Can allergies be life-threatening?Â
Most people may experience mild to moderate allergy symptoms, such as skin rashes, itching, watery eyes, and a runny nose, in their lifetime. However, some face more serious reactions. The most severe form of an allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis, which can turn life-threatening if not treated immediately. It may occur simultaneously in one part of the body or the whole body.
Anaphylaxis typically occurs within seconds or minutes of exposure to the allergen, while if the allergen is a food, it manifests after several hours. However, in sporadic cases, reactions develop after 24 hours. Something called "biphasic reaction," a second wave of symptoms after the first ones go away can occur 12 hours after the initial reaction. Further, those with allergies who have never experienced an anaphylactic reaction have a chance of it happening in the future. Moreover, those who have asthma or have had a severe allergic reaction in the past are at risk of having one in the future as well.Â
So, what can trigger an anaphylactic reaction? Some common ones include an insect sting, specific food items (such as peanuts and shellfish), certain plants or pollen, latex in rubber products, or medicine.Â
When anaphylaxis reaches a critical stage, anaphylactic shock happens. In this situation, anaphylaxis begins affecting a patient's breathing and/or cardiovascular system, and they can lose consciousness. Some common symptoms include-Â
- Loss of consciousness
- Severe shortness of breath
- Lightheadedness
- A rapid or weak pulse
- NauseaÂ
- Vomiting
- Swollen lips, throat, nose, or tongue
- Wheezing or difficulty breathing
- Trouble swallowing
- Sudden drop in blood pressure
- Increased heart rate or weak pulse
- Tightness in the throat
- Sudden weakness
- Cardiac arrest
In case you or someone you know experiences an anaphylactic reaction, seek emergency medical care. Call 911 or a local emergency number immediately. If you know your allergies and have an epinephrine auto-injector (Ex, Auvi-Q, EpiPen, etc.), administer it immediately. Even if your symptoms subside after the severe reaction, you still need to visit a doctor as soon as possible who can ensure your symptoms do not return after the effect of your injection wears off.Â
Can allergies be cured?Â
Allergies cannot be completely cured. However, depending on your allergy, treatment might be available to help you manage your symptoms. One such treatment is immunotherapy. This preventative treatment is for people allergic to pollens, house dust mites, and bee venom and involves gradually dosing the patient with the allergen over several months. The immune system may then produce a 'blocking' antibody, which reduces allergy symptoms when the patient is exposed to that specific allergen again. These steady, incremental increases will ultimately help the immune system become less sensitive to that allergen in the long run. Immunotherapy also reduces inflammation caused by rhinitis and asthma.Â
In rare cases, individuals may outgrow their allergies. For example, a child who is allergic to foods like soy, eggs, milk, or wheat when they are young may outgrow those allergies when they become adults. However, it is essential to note that outgrowing your allergies is not guaranteed, and it is also not possible to predict when or how a person will outgrow their allergies.Â
How to protect yourself from allergies?
There are several natural methods to employ to fight off allergies. You can:
- Protect your indoor air: Keep the windows and doors closed to safeguard the indoor air if the pollen count is high. You can also put a HEPA filter on your air conditioner and a flat or panel filter on your furnace.
- Hygiene check: After spending time outside, tiny dust particles from everywhere can accumulate on your skin, hair, shoes, and clothing. These can sometimes be allergens. Taking a bath or showering and changing into clean clothing can remove them and reduce the risk of infection. Also, you may consider leaving your shoes at the door.
- Wear a mask: A mask not only shields you from COVID-19 but also keeps allergens from getting into your airways. Sometimes, avoiding particular allergy triggers, such as working in your yard or vacuuming, may be impossible. Wearing an N95 mask in such cases usually helps. Most drugstores and medical supply stores have N95 respirator masks, which block nearly 95% of tiny particles, including pollen and other allergens.
- Eat healthy: A nutritious diet is beneficial for the entire body. Research has found that kids with fewer allergy symptoms consumed a lot of nuts, fresh fruits, and vegetables, particularly tomatoes, grapes, apples, and oranges. Hence, including at least one fresh fruit or vegetable in every meal is advisable.Â
- Rinse it out: A nasal rinse clears mucus from your nose, reducing congestion and itching. Additionally, it can whirl away bacteria and thin mucus and minimize post-nasal drip. You can purchase a rinse kit or create one at home with a nasal bulb or neti pot. Mix three teaspoons of iodide-free salt and one teaspoon of baking soda and keep it in an airtight container. While using, combine one teaspoon of the combination with eight ounces of previously boiled and cooled or distilled water. Gently flush one nostril at a time while leaning over a sink.
- Avoid cigarette smoke: It can worsen your stuffy, runny, itchy nose and watery eyes. Pick smoke-free places to eat, go out, and stay at. Avoid additional triggers, like aerosol sprays and fireplace smoke, as these might worsen your symptoms.Â
Moreover, consuming more non-alcoholic drinks (water, healthy juice, etc.), keeping your home clean, and inhaling steam are other methods you can try. However, if nothing works, consult your doctor immediately.
Where can you find the top-rated allergists near you in Houston, Texas?
Allergies, if left unattended, can worsen and affect day-to-day activities. Allergists can assist in managing the responses by prescribing an effective treatment or medicine. Along with medications, they educate patients about allergens that impact them and how to reduce their exposure. They may also provide allergy shots to improve the body's immune system against allergies.
However, finding certified and experienced allergists and booking appointments can be difficult. Coming in as a rescue, Zocdoc saves the trouble and provides details of the best allergists in just a few clicks. You can conduct location and symptom-specific searches by filling in details in the search bar. Hit 'Enter,' and Zocdoc will produce a list of the best allergists in Houston, Texas.
Further, Zocdoc allows you to filter your search only to find in-network specialists who accept your insurance plan. You can do so by manually entering your insurance plan on the website/app and filtering your search results. If this does not help, consider uploading a photo of your insurance card. Once you do that, Zocdoc will scan the image of your card and show you a plan that best matches your card. Note that this option is available for medical insurance cards only. Dental and vision are excluded. If you need help with this process, contact Zocdoc's service team, which is available 365 days a year to answer all your queries. You can also visit Zocdoc's patient help center for answers to other insurance-related questions.Â
That's not it. You can also add filters like gender, distance, time of day, hospital affiliation, spoken languages, and whether the physician treats children or not to have a more refined result.
Zocdoc has top-rated specialists, and to get a transparent view, you can check the doctor's profile with information, including their credentials, accreditations, affiliations, awards, expertise, experience, license, and more. One can also access verified patient ratings and reviews.
Book an in-person or virtual appointment once you've decided on the finest allergist near you to help you with your case. Booking appointments with Zocdoc is simple, secure, and 100% free.
Statistics on allergic conditions in Houston, Texas
According to the 2021 Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America study, more than 100 million Americans suffer from allergies each year. It is among the most frequent health problems affecting children in the United States. The report also states that annually, about 90,000 people visit the emergency room due to anaphylaxis.
The 2022 Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America report studied the top allergy capitals in the USA. Based on the data, Houston stood at rank 34 with a score of (66.03) while the average was nearly 62.07. In the Houston Health Department's August 2022 statistics, allergic reactions caused by weed pollen ranked highest in Houston, followed by mold spores. It also ranked (27th) as the most challenging place to reside with allergies in the fall.
Based on a 2021 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dataset, Texas has an approximately 8.4% prevalence of current asthma cases in adults and around 6.8% in children. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America 2021 Asthma Capitals report found Houston to be a better-than-average state (97th out of 100) for asthma cases with a score of roughly 55.60%, whereas the average is about 73.31.
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