North Texans who live with seasonal allergies have to prepare to stay ahead of their symptoms. To determine when your specific environmental allergen is high, you’ll need to identify what you are actually allergic to. A local allergist helps a patient identify their specific allergies using thorough testing, then works with them on a customized treatment plan.
Why Allergy Testing Is Key to Seasonal Allergy Management
Seasonal environmental allergies come in multiple forms, especially in North Texas. Living in one of the nation’s most allergy-prone states, knowing your allergen triggers is the key to breathing easier. Let’s review the reasons allergy testing is necessary for controlling seasonal allergies.
Allergy Testing Confirms an Immune System Response
Allergy testing verifies whether you are sensitive or allergic to seasonal allergens. An allergic reaction is an immune system response that in some cases can be life-threatening. A sensitivity, on the other hand, does not emanate from or affect the immune system, and expresses its symptoms less severely. This distinction leads to different methods of care and management of your or your child’s seasonal allergies. This is why testing is so important to the diagnostic process.
Allergy Tests Identify Specific Seasonal Allergies
Before treatment can begin, your North Texas allergist must identify which allergens are causing your symptoms. Many allergy treatment centers use skin prick testing or perform blood tests to measure your IgE (immunoglobulin) levels for specific seasonal allergens.
Allergists can also test for other issues like oral allergy syndrome (OAS), where certain foods and pollens share symptomatic responses. For example, if you’re allergic to birch tree pollen, you may experience discomfort when eating avocado, almonds or celery. Allergy testing reveals what’s going on and explains why symptoms occur when they do.
Allergy Testing Leads to Targeted Treatment
After testing is complete and your seasonal allergies are identified, your allergist will work to create a holistic plan for management. You and your allergist will further discuss your symptoms and typical onset timelines, and also examine your medical history to ensure that your seasonal allergy treatments will suit you.
Thanks to the allergy testing you’ve eliminated the many questions of “what and why,” and can now focus on how to feel better. Treatment begins with education about your allergens. For instance, if you are allergic to ragweed, mountain cedar, tree or grass pollen, these affect the air quality at different times of the year. Targeted treatment for seasonal allergies usually begins 10–12 weeks before the onset of symptoms. Allergy testing provides your allergist with a roadmap that leads to personalized allergy treatments for you.
A number of medical factors and personal preferences affect what treatment options are available to you. But innovative options like sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), oral immunotherapy (OIT) and allergy shots can help you on your path to breathing easier and experiencing fewer symptoms.
Visit a Top North Texas Allergist for Allergy Testing Today
Dr. Mireku and staff at TexasAllergyMD are committed to identifying your allergy triggers and creating an allergy management plan that gets you feeling better fast. We are ready to help you and your family with safe allergy testing and innovative treatments at our locations in McKinney/Prosper and Southlake. Call us today at (469) 375-1525 or request an appointment.
