Ahh - Ahh - Achoo! Alleviating Allergies

Serving as the 6th leading cause of chronic conditions among adults, it is no surprise that more than 50 million Americans experience various types of allergies each year. In order to learn how to treat and manage your allergies, it’s important to understand them.

Understanding your allergies begins with knowing what type of allergies you have, and simply put: what you’re allergic to.

Common types of allergies include:

• Indoor and Outdoor

• trees, grass, weed pollen, mold spores, pets, and rodent dander

• Skin 

• skin inflammation, eczema, hives, chronic hives, and contact allergies

• Contact allergens

• poison ivy, soap, jewelry, latex

• Food

• peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, 

• Drugs

• Penicillin being the most popular

• Insect 

• Stings (bee and wasps,) poisonous ant bites, cockroaches, and dust mites

While symptoms may depend on each person, as well as the trigger, some common tell-tale signs of having allergies include:

• Sneezing

• Itchy nose, eyes, or mouth

• Swelling of your tongue or face

• Runny or congested nose

• Swollen, watery eyes

• Rash or hives

• Wheezing

• Itchy, dry, scaling, or oozing skin

• An itchy, swollen area at the site of an insect sting

• Upset stomach, diarrhea, cramping as a result of food allergies

You should consider scheduling a check-up and allergy testing if:

• Over-the-counter medications don’t improve your symptoms 

• You experience chronic sinus infections, nasal congestion, or difficulty breathing

• Your allergy symptoms last several months out of the year

Here in our Dallas office, we are proud to offer the below types of allergy tests:

• Patch testing

• Skin prick testing

• Blood testing

At Southwest Family Medicine and Associates our Allergy Testing Specialist Stacy is ready to help you with all of your testing needs. If you’re ready to alleviate your symptoms, please call 469-273-1790 to request an appointment.