Allergy
Millions of people are plagued by allergies every year, and whether it’s the seasonal variety or a more serious reaction to certain foods, the staff at Accelerate ENT can help. Understanding what causes allergies and how to treat them can be a huge steppingstone toward improving the satisfaction of your everyday life, so our goal is to educate patients and give them tools that offer results.
Our practice is experienced in diagnosing and treating the following types of allergies:
Hay Fever
When people talk about having allergies in a general sense, they are commonly referring to allergic rhinitis (or hay fever). Allergic rhinitis affects over 26 million people, and while it may come and go throughout the year, the symptoms can be frustrating to manage daily. When hay fever occurs, it results in a person’s nasal passages becoming inflamed due to an environmental trigger. Some triggers can cause year-round symptoms while others are seasonal, and can include:
- Ear pressure
- Sneezing, a runny nose, or nasal congestion
- Puffy, itchy, watery, or red eyes
- Postnasal drainage
- Hoarseness or sore throat
- Facial pressure
Some individuals are even affected by “allergic shiners” in which the skin below their eyes takes on a dark tint like a black eye. This wide range of symptoms are often caused by pollen, mold, grass, trees, dust mites, or pet dander.
Treatment for Hay Fever
There are a variety of treatments for allergic rhinitis depending on one’s symptoms and the impact they have on daily life. Sometimes the occasional runny nose might prompt a patient to take an over the counter allergy medication, while others need more relief.
Our team might recommend the use of an antihistamine to lessen nasal inflammation or a corticosteroid nasal spray when one’s hay fever is especially burdensome. Allergy shots, called immunotherapy, can also significantly help if oral and nasal treatments aren’t enough. In most cases, however, the first line of treatment involves reducing your exposure to allergic triggers, like staying inside when pollen counts are high or keeping your distance from pets.
Allergies can be a frustrating part of anyone’s life, but you don’t have to continue to suffer through uncomfortable symptoms year after year. Contact our office today to learn more about the treatments available for managing allergic rhinitis.
Rhinitis and Sinusitis
Often a runny or stuffy nose is the result of something other than allergies. When an individual experience what seems like an allergy attack, but it does not resolve itself when their environment changes, it may be something more than a response to a specific trigger.
Rhinitis
With symptoms that are like hay fever, rhinitis is the inflammation of the nasal passages. Irritation and congestion in the nose are common, as well as excess mucous, sneezing, or itching of the nose. Rhinitis can occur in an allergic or non-allergic form.
Individuals who experience an allergic rhinitis attack can be responding to a variety of triggers, including environmental allergens as well as certain foods, medication, chemicals, or insect venom. The body attempts to protect itself by releasing antibodies that attach to specific cells in the body. These cells, called mast cells, trigger a reaction that causes inflammation and redness. This is what causes the nasal symptoms that mirror those of hay fever.
Although you might still get a runny and itchy nose, non-allergic rhinitis is very different than hay fever or allergic rhinitis. It can be caused by a different set of triggers and is not related to things like pet hair or mold. Instead, some of the reasons one might experience non-allergic rhinitis include:
- Pungent odors
- Cigarette smoke
- Alcoholic beverages
- Common cold
- Deviated septum
- Overuse of decongestants
Treating rhinitis first depends on the type and cause that you experience. If your condition is caused by allergic irritants, lifestyle changes to avoid these triggers is recommended. Patients whose symptoms are the result of other factors may find relief with the use of decongestants and antihistamines.
Sinusitis
Affecting nearly 1 in 8 people, sinusitis is the inflammation of the sinuses, usually during a cold. While the symptoms of sinusitis might make you think you have allergies or a cold, there are slight differences that distinguish this condition from the rest. If you’re noticing that your nasal symptoms don’t clear up after 10 days, you might have sinusitis. Common indications include:
- Cloudy or colored mucous for more than 10 days
- A congested nose
- Pain or pressure in the face or around the eyes
Acute sinusitis is diagnosed when these symptoms last for 4 weeks without any relief. After an evaluation, our physicians will be able to distinguish if your sinusitis is caused by a bacterium or a virus. The treatments vary depending on the cause, so for the most effective results, we aim to get a complete understanding of your nasal condition.
Those with viral sinusitis will benefit from pain relievers, a short course of steroids, or a salt water rinse of the nose. Bacterial sinusitis is best treated with antibiotics to clear up symptoms.
If your nasal symptoms have persisted for more than 10 days, please contact our office today. Our goal is to provide you with information to better understand what’s causing your symptoms and to create a plan of treatment that works for your lifestyle.
Allergy Testing
Whether it’s a runny nose or the inability to breathe, allergies can occur in varying forms. Living with allergies daily is only a minor inconvenience for some, but in others it can be a major issue or even life-threatening. For our physicians to properly diagnose and treat your allergy symptoms, we perform several types of allergy tests.
Skin Testing
The most common form of allergy testing is a skin test because it’s affordable and allows us to see results right away. During your visit, we’ll place a droplet on your skin that contains a specific allergen. Then the skin is either pricked or scratched with a needle in order to allow the allergen to enter the skin. If you have a reaction to the allergen, redness or swelling will occur on the skin quickly.
If a skin test doesn’t provide results despite the belief that a specific allergen is the cause of your symptoms, the staff at Accelerate ENT can also perform an intradermal test. This type of allergy testing is slightly more invasive, as a solution containing the allergen is injected into the skin. An intradermal test can be most beneficial for specific types of allergies and can often provide better results than a surface skin test alone.
Blood Testing
Some patients are very sensitive to allergens, so much so that exposing the skin to a trigger can create a severe reaction. In this instance, we can also test for allergies through a blood draw. Our physicians might perform a radioallergosorbent or RAST test to determine the number of antibodies in the blood. While this doesn’t provide immediate results and can be more difficult in trying to determine specific allergens, it is sometimes a preferred method for some individuals.
Food or Skin Allergies
The general term allergies don’t always have to affect our nasal passages or sinuses, as plenty of people experience food and skin allergies. While these types of conditions require extra care when it comes to diagnosis and treatment, our professionals are skilled at helping you to navigate your allergies so that you can live life to the fullest.
Food Allergies
Sometimes individuals aren’t aware that they even have a food allergy until they have a life-threatening reaction, while others have known to steer clear of certain foods since childhood.
The symptoms of a food allergy can vary in severity, ranging from minor swelling to full anaphylaxis, and can also include:
- Wheezing or coughing
- Dizziness
- Fainting
- Hives and itching
- A tingling sensation in the mouth
- Vomiting, diarrhea, or pain in the abdomen
Patients might find that they experience a limited reaction after eating but may have difficulty pinpointing it to a specific food item. In general, there are a set group of foods that are associated with allergies:
- Eggs
- Wheat
- Peanuts and tree nuts
- Milk
- Shellfish
- Soy
If you have a reaction after eating one of these foods, it might be best to eliminate it from your diet. Often this can require a bit more diligence but in the long run can save you from a dangerous incident.
When a food allergy does occur, many times it can be treated with an over the counter antihistamine. Symptoms like anaphylaxis may require an injection of epinephrine, and people who have severe food allergies often always carry an EpiPen on them. The use of this injection should be treated as an emergency that requires professional medical attention.
Skin Allergies
Pinpointing the source of a skin rash can be a bit of a process, as there are a wide range of substances that can create an adverse reaction in our bodies. Not only can an allergy be the cause, but certain drug reactions, nerve disorders, or even pregnancy can contribute to a skin condition. Some of the more common triggers of this type of allergy include:
- Latex
- Hair dye
- Nickel
- Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, and Poison Sumac
- Fabrics including wool or polyester
- Certain perfumes, creams, or makeup products
- Extreme heat or cold
Not all allergic reactions come with the same set of symptoms (i.e., rashes can vary in texture and duration). You might find that being exposed to a trigger results in contact dermatitis, which can take the form of bumps or blisters that often ooze. They may be accompanied by itching, cracking, or redness and swelling. A skin allergy test is often used to determine the cause of contact dermatitis, and in many cases, it’s treated with a corticosteroid or over the counter antihistamine.
A more prolonged type of skin allergy is eczema, which can begin in childhood and last during a person’s entire life. Eczema includes thickened patches of skin that are present on the forearms, face, elbows, or the backs of the knees. It’s often itchy and red and can sometimes weep and crust over. Limiting the use of perfumed products can help lessen the severity of these symptoms, and our physicians are trained in creating a treatment plan that works with your lifestyle.
Another common type of skin allergy is a collection of red welts called hives. They can be triggered by a specific allergen or in some cases are idiopathic. Hives can go away on their own, but for prolonged cases that are painful and bothersome, visit Accelerate ENT for an evaluation. We can often prescribe medication or recommend lifestyle changes to help reduce the occurrence of hives.
Food and skin allergies can be a major nuisance for many individuals, so don’t wait to get the relief you need. Residents of the New Jersey area have trusted us to diagnose and treat their allergic conditions for many years – contact us today to find out how we can help.