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Lundgren, Linnea, and Jeff Wald. "Allergy Treatment Basics." 03 May 2006. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/allergy-treatments-ga.htm> 17 May 2008.
by Linnea Lundgren and Jeff Wald, MD
Inside This Article
Visiting a Doctor
Your visit with the doctor will produce the best results if you prepare for it ahead of time. That means you need to do some investigative work first. This section will cover the preparation before making your first visit to your physician or allergist.How to Prepare for the Doctor's Visit
Pretend you're a medical journalist researching a topic -- only the topic is yourself! Take out a pen and a piece of paper and make notes about the what, where, when, and how of your symptoms.
Here are some questions to ask yourself or your child:
- What? What are your symptoms? Try to be specific even if it sounds unpleasant or ordinary, i.e., "I cough up yellow mucus" or "I sneeze whenever I rake leaves." As you list them, rank them according to their severity: 1 is mild while 10 is unbearable.
- Where? This question requires some observation. Do you sneeze when you visit Aunt Betty and her three cats? Do you break out in a rash after eating Chinese food? Do your eyes swell shut after a walk in the park? Closely examine your living quarters and take notes: Are the pillows ancient? Is mom's lovely macrame a dust collector? How many house-plants populate your home?
- When? When did the symptoms first occur? What time of day is most problematic? Are certain times of year worse than others? Do symptoms occur hourly, daily, monthly, or seasonally?
- How? How does this problem affect you? Do these problems interfere with your life and to what extent? Do they affect your ability to play sports? Work? Stay awake? Eat out? Kiss your sweetheart?
The answers to the questions above will provide the doctor with a good understanding of your allergic symptoms. But there are a couple other pieces of the allergy puzzle that you'll have to provide so the picture is complete.
They are:
- Your family's medical history. Does anyone in your immediate family have allergies? If so, what kind? Beyond that, be aware of undiagnosed symptoms in your family. If dear, stubborn Dad constantly sniffles and sneezes yet always claims "it's a cold," make a note of that, too.
- Medicines that you take. Make a list of all the medications you take or have taken and any reactions you have had to them. Be sure to include prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal products.
Whether you see your primary-care physician or an allergist, the first appointment will start with a conversation. All the investigative reporting you did will come in very handy at this point. The doctor will ask you a lot of questions about your symptoms, your medical history, your family history, your household, and even your work environment.
After you've talked, the doctor probably will examine you. The doctor will be looking for clinical signs of allergies and their complications (such as fluid in the ear, sinusitis, and wheezing). The results of the medical history and the exam will give your doctor a good idea of the nature of your allergies and what the most effective treatment might be. The doctor will discuss the findings with you. Sometimes, however, the doctor will want more information, information that only allergy tests can provide.
Allergy testing is indicated if:
- Symptoms are present for 3 or more months a year.
- Symptoms don't respond well to medications or there are unacceptable side effects from medications.
- The patient would like to decrease medications.
- There is a need to know about specific allergies. (For instance, before you kick your dogs out of the bedroom, you'd like to be certain that they're the cause of your symptoms.)
- You have complications from allergies.
- You have required oral steroids or steroid shots for allergies in the past.
Fact: Asthma results from an overreaction of the immune system. Because of this, allergy/immunology specialists are often the best physicians to treat asthma and allergies. These doctors are pediatric or internal medicine physicians who have elected to do an additional two years of training to become specialized in the treatment of these diseases. |
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Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this How Stuff Works article:
Lundgren, Linnea, and Jeff Wald. "Allergy Treatment Basics." 03 May 2006. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://health.howstuffworks.com/allergy-treatments-ga.htm> 17 May 2008.
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Breathing That Sounds Abnormal Broad Nasal Bridge Bulging Fontanelles Bullae Chemosis Chest Pain Chills Clammy Skin Claw Foot Claw Hand Cloudy Cornea Clubbing Of The Fingers Or Toes Cold Intolerance Coloboma Of The Iris Comedones Confusion Constipation Contracture Deformity Coughing Coughing Up Blood Crying Excessively in Infants Cyst Decerebrate Posture Decorticate Posture Decreased Consciousness Decreased Urine Output Delayed Growth Delayed or Absent Tooth Formation Depression Diarrhea Difficulty with Urination Dizziness Drooling Drowsiness Dry Eyes Dry Hair Dry Skin Ear Discharge Earache Earlobe Creases Elbow Pain Epicanthal Folds Erection Problems Erosion Excessive Or Unwanted Hair In Women Excessive Thirst Excessive Urination Excessive Urination at Night Excessively Large Fontanelles Eye Burning, Itching and Discharge Eye Pain Eye Redness Eye Slant Eyelid Drooping Eyes That Bulge Face Pain Facial Paralysis Facial Swelling Fainting Fatigue Female Sexual Dysfunction Fever Finger Pain Fingers That Change Color Flank Pain Floating Stools Focal Neurological Deficits Foot Pain Foot, Leg, And Ankle Swelling Foul Smelling Stools Frequent Or Urgent Urination Frontal Bossing Gas (Flatulence) Gastrointestinal Bleeding Genital Sores (Female) Genital Sores (Male) Groin Lumps Groin Pain Gynecomastia Hair Loss Hallucinations Hand Or Foot Spasms Hand Tremors Headache Hearing Loss Heart Murmurs And Other Sounds Heart Palpitations Heartburn Heat Intolerance Heavy, Prolonged, or Irregular Mens... Heel Pain Hemolytic Crisis Hepatomegaly Heterochromia Hiccups Hip Pain Hoarseness Or Changing Voice Hump Behind The Shoulders Hyperactivity Hyperelastic Skin Hypermobile Joints Hyperventilation Hypotonia Impaired Smell Increased Head Circumference Indigestion Infantile Reflexes Intercostal Retractions Intertrigo Irritability Itching Jaundice (Yellow Skin) Joint Pain Joint Swelling Knee Pain Leg Pain Lichenified Limited Range Of Motion Lordosis Low Nasal Bridge Lower Back Pain Macule Malaise Memory Loss Metopic Ridge Microcephaly Micrognathia Morbid Obesity Morning Sickness Moro Reflex Motormental Retardation Mouth Sores Muscle Aches Muscle Atrophy Muscle Cramps Muscle Function Loss Muscle Twitching Nail Abnormalities Nasal Congestion Nasal Discharge Nasal Flaring Natal Teeth Nausea And Vomiting Neck Lumps Neck Pain Night Blindness Nightmares Nikolsky’s Sign Nipple Discharge Nodules Nosebleed Numbness And Tingling Obesity Opisthotonos Pain During Sexual Intercourse Painful Menstrual Periods Painful Urination Pale or Clay-Colored Stools Paleness Papule Patches Patchy Skin Color Pectus Carinatum Pectus Excavatum Penis Pain Photophobia Pilonidal Dimple Pinna Abnormalities And Low-set Ear... Point Tenderness Polydactyly Polyhydramnios Poor Feeding In Infants Preauricular Tag Or Pit Premenstrual Breast Tenderness and ... Prognathism Pupils That Are Different Sizes Purpura Pustules Rapid Shallow Breathing Rash in a Child Under 2 Years Rashes Rib Cage Pain Ridged Sutures Scales Scrotal Swelling Seizures Sensorineural Deafness Separated Sutures Shin Splints Short Philtrum Short Stature Shoulder Pain Simian Crease Skeletal Limb Abnormalities Skin Blushing/flushing Skin Discoloration Skin Lumps Skin Turgor Sleeping Difficulty Sneezing Snoring Sore Throat Spasticity Speech Impairment (adult) Splenomegaly Splinter Hemorrhages Strange Behavior Stress And Anxiety Striae Subcutaneous Emphysema Sunburn Sunken Fontanelles Supernumerary Nipples Swallowing Difficulty Swallowing Pain Or Burning Sweating Sweating Decrease Swelling Swollen Glands Swollen Gums Taste Impairment Telangiectasia Tenesmus Testicle Lump Testicle Pain Tinnitus Tongue Problems Tooth Discoloration Toothaches Ulcers Uncontrollable Eye Movements Uncontrollable Movement Uncontrolled Or Slow Movement Uncoordinated Movement Unpredictable Or Jerky Movement Urinary Incontinence Urine Discoloration Vaginal Bleeding Between Periods Vaginal Bleeding In Pregnancy Vaginal Discharge Vaginal Itching Vesicles Vision Problems Vomiting Blood Walking Abnormalities Watery Eyes Weak or Absent Pulse Weakness Webbing Of The Fingers Or Toes Weight Gain Weight Loss Wheezing White Spots in the Pupil Whitehead Widely Spaced Teeth Wrinkles Wrist Pain Yawning
DISEASES AND CONDITIONS GLOSSARY:
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