Immunology (Allergy & Asthma)

After diagnosing your allergy, the team will suggest a treatment to help you manage and reduce symptoms. This could include antihistamines, decongestants and nasal corticosteroids.

Allergy shots can help control asthma, relieve allergy and sinus symptoms, and reduce your need for medicines in the future. In children, allergy shots are beneficial as they can reduce the risk of becoming more allergic or developing asthma later in life.

Allergy shots are one of the best treatments available for allergies and asthma. It is one of the few disease-modifying therapies available in medicine and targets the underlying cause of various allergic conditions.

Your provider will help determine if you need an asthma reliever or controller for everyday prevention. Relievers — also called rescue inhalers or bronchodilators — temporarily relieve symptoms. Controllers are anti-inflammatory medications that prevent or heal bronchiole inflammation. You may also need a quick-relief medicine to help stop asthma symptoms.

During a drug challenge, you take two to three step-up doses of the medication to determine tolerance. This treatment is for those who think they have a medication allergy, but the allergist thinks there is a minimal risk for reaction.

During drug desensitization, you take the drug in increasing amounts over time until you can tolerate the needed dose with minimal side effects. Desensitization only helps those taking the medicine every day. Once stopped — for example, when a chemotherapy cycle ends — you need to go through the desensitization process again to take another course of the medication.

With an oral food challenge, you eat small amounts of food over a few hours to determine if a reaction occurs. There is a risk of a severe reaction, so it is performed under medical supervision and in a facility with emergency medication and equipment on hand.

Immunotherapy is the medical term for allergy shots, an effective treatment to help decrease your reaction to a known allergen and build immunity. Allergy shots can be used for food, seasonal and stinging insect (bees) allergies.

A peak flow meter is a simple device that measures how hard you can breathe out. Lower than usual peak flow readings are a sign that your lungs may not be working well and that your asthma may worsen.

A past reaction to penicillin and related drugs, such as amoxicillin, does not automatically mean you have a penicillin allergy. It is important to formally determine your allergy to the medication so you do not have to avoid this basic antibiotic. Using basic antibiotics like penicillin for common infections allows providers to reserve stronger antibiotics for future, more complicated infections. This practice reduces the risk of antibiotic resistance.

With an allergy, your body reacts to a particular substance — called an allergen — that should typically not be bothersome. To determine which substances trigger your symptoms, allergist-immunologists inject tiny amounts of commonly troublesome allergens. This testing is generally safe, effective and the gold standard for allergy diagnosis.

This test estimates the narrowing of your bronchial tubes by checking how much air you can exhale after a deep breath and how fast you can breathe out. It is used to help diagnose asthma.

Asthma is a chronic lung condition that affects the airways in the lungs. The airways can become inflamed and narrowed at times, making it harder for air to flow out of your airways when you breathe. Certain things can bring on or worsen asthma symptoms, including allergens, such as pollen or animal dander; irritants, such as cold air or smoke; and infections, such as influenza.

An allergy is the body's immune response to a substance in the environment that typically is harmless to most people. The immune system produces antibodies that identify the particular allergen as harmful, even though it isn't, which can cause reactions ranging from minor irritation to severe allergic reactions.

For your first appointment, bring your current prescription information or medical records from non-Mayo Clinic Health System facilities. Complete a medical records release form to authorize the transfer of health records from another healthcare facility to us. Visit our Medical Record Forms page for this form and other forms in multiple languages.

Stop taking antihistamines or similar medications 24 to 48 hours before skin testing. Check all medications you are taking — prescription and nonprescription — to see if they contain antihistamines. You can continue to take asthma medications; antibiotics; oral steroids, such as prednisone; and nasal sprays, except for Astelin/Astepro or Patanase.

You may be asked to take specific over-the-counter medications before your allergy shots to reduce your reaction. Be sure to bring your EpiPen if you have one.

Stop taking antihistamines before your challenge appointment, as directed by your provider. Be sure to bring your EpiPen if you have one.

By giving increasing doses of allergen proteins in the body, your immune system starts to recognize and become tolerant to these substances. Once tolerance is achieved, you don’t experience allergic inflammatory reactions when exposed to those allergens, and it leads to improved symptoms.

Small increment amounts of food are fed to the patient over a period of a few hours to determine if a reaction occurs. Due to the possibility of a severe reaction, it must be conducted under medical supervision by an experienced provider and in a facility with emergency medication and equipment on hand.

When you are allergic, your body is reacting to a particular substance that should not normally bother you. These are called allergens and can include pollens, dust mites, animal dander, foods, insect stings and medicines. To determine the triggers of your symptoms, your allergist will test your skin using tiny amounts of commonly troublesome allergens.

Our Patient Account Services representatives can assist you with any issues related to billing and insurance. We also offer financial assistance if you are unable to pay for care due to financial hardship.

Yes. Call the appointment number at your preferred Allergy & Asthma location.

Always call 911 in case of an emergency. For after-hours help with other issues, get virtual care 24/7 through the Primary Care On Demand app or review our convenient care options.