Treating Allergies

Once we determine what you are allergic to, we try to minimize exposure and sensitivity.

Lessening Exposure

• Proper environmental control is paramount in lessening exposure. See our tips for avoiding allergens.

• Hypertonic saline irrigations can also help immeasurably. This allows the patient to literally wash the allergens and irritants out of the nose.

• For specific fungal allergens, antifungal medications are helpful in lessening that exposure.

Lessening Sensitivity

• Avoidance is often not practical in the real world, so we prescribe specific medications to lessen sensitivity. A number of medications are useful in the treatment of allergy including antihistamines, decongestants, cromolyn, leukotriene inhibitors, and cortisone-type preparations. Nasal steroid sprays are the main “work horse” of medical therapy.

• The only cure available for inhalant allergy is the administration of injections that build up protective antibodies to specific allergen. We are also keeping up with the advances in allergy drops (under-the-tongue drops) that are given three times a day. These options are also called immunotherapy. Read more about it using the links below.

If medical and immunotherapy are not enough, we can consider the latest technology to endoscopically open up the sinuses or nasal passages. We can even combine this with plastic surgery of the nose to make your nose look and function better.