Allergy Testing Now Available at the Aurora Clinic
Taking Time to Care
Do you have a nose that runs or plugs up every spring? Or maybe you have a cough from May until the snow flies? If so, you’re not alone. As many as 1 in 5 Americans experience allergies every year.
And now, Aurora Clinic is pleased to offer help to those suffering from allergy symptoms.
There are two reasons for the allergy tests: First, to see if the problem is due to an allergy or not, and second, to guide treatment if an allergy is the culprit.
Allergy testing typically involves between 8 and 40 separate pricks. This is also called a scratch test. In the scratch test, each separate prick has a drip containing a different potential allergen. Allergens tested include cat dander, ragweed, or mold. If an allergy is causing the problem, whichever substance is to blame will make the skin swell and itch at the testing site. The itching cools down within 30-60 minutes. If skin testing is not an option (for instance, if a person needs to take medications like antihistamines that make the skin test unreliable), a blood test for allergies can give the same information.
Sometimes the cough or runny nose isn’t caused by allergies at all. When the skin or blood tests show that the problem isn’t an allergy, then we know not to treat it like an allergy. (Among other things, that may mean getting to keep a favorite pet.) Different medications work to treat symptoms that aren’t caused by allergies.
If an allergy is to blame, one option is to treat with antihistamine pills and/or nasal steroid sprays. But if this doesn’t give enough relief, allergy shots can work very well. We can provide them at Aurora Clinic, too. They do involve shots every week for the first few months, but people start to see improvement within 2 months. Whether the problem is an allergy or not, we can diagnose and treat it at Aurora Clinic.
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