Get Ready For Fall Allergies

Allergies don’t only crop up in the spring. The persistent sniffles, clogged nose, itchy eyes and sneezing also happen in the fall — and, experts say, they are getting more common, and more intense.

Don’t Wait For Fall Allergy Symptoms!

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that the allergy seasons have almost doubled in length and gotten more intense because of climate change,” said Kenneth Mendez, the president and chief executive of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Higher carbon dioxide emissions spur plants to release larger amounts of pollen, he said. “That’s why allergies are feeling a lot worse.”

Common Fall Allergens

The most common culprit for fall allergies is ragweed, a plant that grows wild almost everywhere, but especially on the East Coast and in the Midwest. Ragweed blooms and releases pollen from August to November. In many areas of the country, ragweed pollen levels are highest in early to mid-September.

Other plants that trigger fall allergies include:

· Burning bush

· Cocklebur

· Lamb’s-quarters

· Pigweed

· Sagebrush and mug wort · Tumbleweed and Russian thistle

Allergy Drops at Carolina Total Wellness

Carolina Total Wellness offers effective allergy treatment for both indoor and outdoor allergies through sublingual immunotherapy drops formulated just for you to safely and conveniently treat the cause of your allergies.

How Allergy Drops Work

Sublingual immunotherapy, also called allergy drops, works similar to allergy shots by gradually helping your body build tolerance to the substance(s) causing your allergies. The difference is that the antigen is placed under your tongue in a liquid drop form instead of an injection.

What kind of allergies can be treated with allergy drops?

One of the benefits of sublingual immunotherapy is that it can treat a broad range of allergies, including those caused by:

· Dust mites

· Mold

· Animals

· Foods

· Seasonal pollens such as grass, trees, ragweed, and mountain cedar, etc.

Who should take Allergy Drops?

Anyone interested in treating the cause of their allergic disease, instead of just temporarily managing symptoms, can consider allergy drops.

· Infants and children*

· Asthmatics

· People with highly sensitive conditions including EoE

· Those who don’t like needles

· Those with chronic conditions including sinusitis and eczema

· Those with food and mold allergies

· Those with multiple allergies including dust mites, pollen, foods, and animals

* Allergy drops have proven especially helpful for children with eczema and recurrent ear infections, which often have underlying allergic causes. Research shows that many children with untreated eczema and allergies often develop asthma and other chronic conditions later in life, so treating them early can have life-long benefits and may prevent development of other allergies and asthma.

What are the advantages to Allergy Drops?

In addition to being a viable option for people of all ages and conditions, there are more advantages:

Lower cost, fewer clinic visits. Compared to shots and many medications, allergy drops typically cost less over time. Most patients receiving allergy drops need only a few clinic visits the first year, and then once every 6-12 months thereafter until visits are no longer needed. That can also mean a lot less time away from work or school.

More convenient. You can take allergy drops at home or wherever you are, making it much easier to stay with your treatment.

Less medication. Our patients report, and research confirms, that they typically need less medication to control symptoms after beginning allergy drops.

Enjoy healthier days. The end benefit of taking drops consistently? Feeling better, more productive and better able to enjoy life and activities that allergies once made it hard to enjoy.

INITIAL ADULT AND PEDIATRIC PATIENT ALLERGY DROPS VISIT: $300

Please allow 45 minutes for your initial visit which will include consultation with your physician or physician assistant, physical exam and discussion of allergy testing. Skin prick testing will be performed at this visit and results and interpretation will be discussed. Prescription will be provided for allergy drops and we will review how to administer these at home.

FOLLOW UP ALLERGY DROPS VISIT: $85

Please allow 15 minutes for your follow up allergy visits. This will include review of your allergy symptoms and immunotherapy plan of treatment as well as new 3-month prescription for allergy drops. Follow up visits are recommended every 3 months for the first year and then every 6 to 12 months for the subsequent 2 to 4 years, depending on your response to treatment.

FOLLOW UP ALLERGY SKIN PRICK TESTING: $125

We recommend follow up skin prick testing for environmental allergies every 12 months to assess progress of immunotherapy and adjust your prescription allergy drops as needed.

To schedule, please call us at 919-999-0831

SPRING ALLERGIES ARE HERE!

New Allergy Clinic

Susan D. Denny, MD, MPH

If you are like me, your Spring sneezing and sniffles have begun.  In our area, tree pollen begins in March with grass pollen beginning in April.  A look at the Allergy Season chart for the Southeast reveals that we allergy sufferers can have symptoms anywhere from February through October in North Carolina. 

With the Spring sniffles you may be breaking out your Claritin, Zyrtec, Flonase or Pataday, or maybe all of these!  For some of us, it is hard to imagine enjoying a beautiful Spring day free of sinus congestion, headaches or itchy eyes without the use of some allergy medication.  Fortunately, there is hope for allergy sufferers.  Here are a few simple tips to help you reduce allergy symptoms and allergy medications while still enjoying the beautiful Spring weather.

  • Perform nasal rinses with warm saline water and a neti pot before bed.
    • DON’T open those windows and doors to let in “fresh” air.  This will increase the pollen counts in your indoor air.
    • DO use a high-quality indoor air filter such as IQAir or Austin Air Health Mate Plus to reduce indoor allergens.
    • Shower before bed, including hair rinsing or washing, to reduce nighttime exposure to allergens trapped on skin and hair.

While these steps may help to reduce allergy symptoms, elimination of allergies requires testing and treatment.  After trying and failing allergy shots myself, I am now treating the root cause of my allergies with allergy drops.  Allergy drops are clinically proven to be as effective in reducing and even eliminating allergies as allergy shots.  However, allergy drops do not require weekly visits to the office and are less expensive than weekly allergy shot copays. 

If you are interested in treating the root cause of your allergies and eliminating allergy symptoms for good, consider allergy testing and allergy drop treatment at Carolina Total Wellness.

https://carolinatotalwellness.com/allergy-drops.php

Allergy Clinic Details

New Allergy Clinic
By: Susan Denny, MD

Here in North Carolina, allergy season is just around the corner.  For those of us with pollen, grass or tree allergies, symptoms typically begin in February and can last until November.  Many of us, however, may have indoor allergies to dust, mold or pet dander and suffer from stuffy nose, sneezing, itchy/watery eyes, wheezing or headaches year-round. 
 
We are now offering a simple allergy treatment for both indoor and outdoor allergies.  Sublingual immunotherapy, or allergy drops, is a safe, convenient way to treat the cause of your allergies and help you build long-term tolerance to the things that once made you miserable. 

  • The patient tailored drops work similar to allergy shots, but are delivered through a liquid drop under the tongue at home or wherever you are.
  • This method makes it easier to stay with your treatment and requires fewer office visits than with other methods.
  • Although most allergy sufferers can benefit from allergy drops, they’re especially ideal for those who can’t tolerate or don’t respond to allergy shots, as well as those who are unable to commit to allergy shot therapy.
  • Allergy drop therapy typically lasts 3 to 5 years, similar to allergy shots, however, the total cost of treatment is typically less expensive than the weekly copays required for allergy shots. 

 
INITIAL ADULT AND PEDIATRIC PATIENT ALLERGY DROPS VISIT: $240
Please allow 45 minutes for your initial visit which will include consultation with your physician or physician assistant, physical exam and discussion of allergy testing.  Skin prick testing will be performed at this visit and results and interpretation will be discussed.  Prescription will be provided for allergy drops and we will review how to administer these at home. 
 
FOLLOW UP ALLERGY DROPS VISIT: $85
Please allow 15 minutes for your follow up allergy visits.  This will include review of your allergy symptoms and immunotherapy plan of treatment as well as new 3 month prescription for allergy drops.  Follow up visits are recommended every 3 months for the first year and then every 6 to 12 months for the subsequent 2 to 4 years, depending on your response to treatment.
 
FOLLOW UP ALLERGY SKIN PRICK TESTING: $125
We recommend follow up skin prick testing for environmental allergies every 12 months to assess progress of immunotherapy and adjust your prescription allergy drops as needed.
 
If you are interested in more information, please call us at 919-999-0831.