You scheduled an allergy test, and now you have a diagnosis of what exactly is causing your allergy symptoms: congratulations! This kind of knowledge brings clarity and peace of mind, and it informs your next steps in managing your symptoms. Let’s discuss what happens immediately after receiving your results and how to use this new information.
Discussion with Your Doctor
Whether you did a skin test and got your results back immediately, or a blood test and had to wait a week or two, once your results are in, you’ll want to sit down with your doctor or allergist to discuss them and what they mean.
During this discussion, your doctor will explain the allergens you’re reacting to and the common symptoms associated with your allergens. They’ll also talk about the severity of your allergies. This will provide valuable insight into your personal allergies and how they affect your health and daily life.
Beginning Treatment
Next, you and your doctor will discuss your ongoing allergy management strategy, including potential lifestyle changes, medications and treatments that may be helpful in managing your allergy symptoms.
Lifestyle Changes
Avoiding your allergic triggers is the best way to avoid a reaction, but that’s nigh impossible to do if you don’t know what your triggers are. Suffering from allergy symptoms for a while without knowing exactly what substance was causing the reaction is frustrating and disheartening. Now, you do know what’s causing them.
Armed with this information, you can effectively avoid your triggers. If you’re allergic to pollen, monitor the pollen count on the local weather forecast and stay indoors on high-pollen days; if you’re allergic to mold, rid your home of mold and invest in a dehumidifier to prevent it from growing back; and so on.
Medications
If your allergies are severe or if you’re unable to avoid your triggers with any regularity, the next line of defense is medication. Your doctor may recommend:
- Antihistamines for mild reactions
- Nasal corticosteroids for nasal symptoms
- Inhalers for asthma and other breathing-related symptoms
- Topical antihistamine (over-the-counter) or steroid (prescription) creams for skin reactions
These help reduce symptoms and bring daily relief from the worst of your allergy symptoms.
Long-Term Treatment
For many, immunotherapy is an excellent long-term option that brings long-lasting allergy relief. 2.6 million people in America are treated with immunotherapy each year, and it’s highly effective. Immunotherapy treats the condition by reducing the body’s natural response to the allergen, resulting in a permanently reduced immune response. It can be administered either as oral drops or injected shots.
Make an Emergency Plan
After you receive your diagnosis, it’s also important to create an emergency plan in the event of a severe, dangerous allergic reaction. Anaphylaxis, for example, is potentially life-threatening and can occur within seconds of exposure. Your allergist will help you recognize the signs of danger and create an emergency plan. This may include:
- Emergency medications, such as an EpiPen
- Seeking emergency medical care
- How to communicate your allergies and the dangers to workplaces, schools and caregivers
Find Allergy Relief Today
If you had an allergy test performed but haven’t pulled the trigger on a treatment plan with an allergist, we strongly recommend you do so. Contact Charleston ENT & Allergy today to start building your plan.