ALLERGY CENTRE

Health Vacations Inc. cooperates with clinics in St. Petersburg that specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, allergies, ear and sinus problems, eczema, hives, recurrent infections, and environmental reactions.

What are allergies?

Understanding allergies--from food allergies to pet allergies--as well as tests that confirm allergies.

- Allergic reactions
- Allergy tests

Allergic reactions

Common allergies:

- Drug allergy and other drug reactions: Are you at risk?

Drug allergies occur when your immune system mistakes a medication for a disease-causing agent. Drug allergies are not the same as side-effects or non-allergic drug reactions; knowing the difference can save your life.

Imagine that you have just taken a new medication. Within minutes, you are having trouble breathing and your vision is blurry. You might be experiencing a drug allergy—a potentially serious event caused not by a medication's therapeutic action or side-effects, but by your immune system's mis-directed attack on the medication.

True drug allergies—compared with non-allergic adverse reactions—account for less than 10 percent of all drug reactions that bring people to the hospital or that people develop during their hospital stays. However, because drug allergies may be severe enough to require specific anti-allergy treatment, it is important to distinguish them from other drug reactions. Before you take a new medication or a drug that you have not used in a while, ask your doctor if you could be allergic to it. The same principle applies if you have had a reaction to any drug in the past.

- Dust mite allergy

Did you know that you could be sharing your bed with anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million dust mites? These microscopic organisms, which are related to spiders, live in many homes. Too small to see with the naked eye, dust mites thrive in warm, humid environments—eating dead skin cells and nesting in dust-collecting bedding, fabric, carpet and furnishings.

The residue that dust mites leave behind in the form of their feces and decaying bodies mixes with dust and becomes airborne. If you are not allergic to dust mite residue, it is not harmful. But if you are allergic, inhaling the residue can cause bothersome allergy symptoms, including wheezing, sneezing, watery eyes and runny nose.

One treatment for a dust mite allergy is avoidance—that is, taking measures to minimize the number of dust mites in your home. Your doctor may also recommend allergy medications or allergy injections.

- Food allergy

Many people believe that they are allergic to specific foods. However, true food allergies are not nearly as common as you might think. About 1 percent of adults and 5 percent of children actually have a true food allergy—an adverse reaction to a food that is triggered by the immune system. Far more people have a food intolerance, an unpleasant reaction to food that does not involve the immune system.

This is little consolation if you have had a bad experience with a particular food and fear a recurrence. But it is an important distinction, because a true food allergy—also called a hypersensitivity—can cause serious problems and even death.

If you experience a reaction to a particular food, tell your doctor about it. Tests can help diagnose a food allergy, so you can take steps to avoid a repeat problem.

- Mold allergy

A mold allergy is less common than you would expect, given the thousands of types of mold in the environment. Out of all these types, only a few dozen can cause an allergic reaction.

Because mold or fungi grow in all kinds of weather and thrive both inside and outside, mold allergies do not always have a defined season like pollen allergies do, even though several outdoor molds are most highly concentrated from spring to late fall.

If you have asthma caused by an allergy to mold, the best defense is to avoid sources of mold spores—airborne seeds you can easily inhale. However, completely avoiding a substance as common as mold may be difficult. Fortunately, asthma and allergy medications can relieve the symptoms of a mold allergy.

- Peanut allergy

Peanut allergies affect approximately 1.5 million people in the United States. As the most common cause of life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), peanut allergies account for 80 percent of fatal or near-fatal allergic reactions each year. You can reduce your risk of having an allergic reaction to peanuts by knowing as much as you can about peanut allergies and how to avoid peanut-containing products.

If you have any reaction to peanuts, tell your doctor, no matter how mild the reaction may be. Tests can help diagnose a peanut allergy, so you can take steps to avoid future and potentially worse reactions.

- Pet allergy

Does your dog make you sneeze? Does your cat make your eyes water? If so, you're not alone. Having a pet allergy whether to dogs or cats, or even to hamsters or birds, is fairly common.

You may be surprised to learn that in most cases it is not your pet's fur or feathers that cause the allergic reaction. Instead, it is the small, invisible flakes of animal skin (dander) that trigger the itchy, watery eyes, sneezing and stuffy nose. Less frequently, some people may experience an allergic reaction to pet saliva.

A pet allergy can range from mild to severe. Symptoms of a pet allergy often occur within minutes after exposure to the pet. The most effective way to alleviate the signs and symptoms of a pet allergy is to find a new home for your pet, although for many people, separating from a loyal companion can be difficult to do.

Allergy relief:

Strategies to help you prevent allergy symptoms and understand allergy treatment.

-Allergy shots: Hope for long-term allergy relief

If you wonder whether allergy shots are right for you or your child, there are a lot of factors to consider. The following describes how shots work, when they are recommended and more. An allergy shot every month for several years certainly is not your idea of fun, much less your child's. But it might be a worthwhile investment in the long run. When persistent allergies do not respond to medication, or if the medication side-effects are intolerable, allergy shots may offer the best relief.

- How do they work?

Allergy shots (immunotherapy) are a series of injections meant to desensitize you to specific allergens—the substances that trigger an allergic response. To be effective, allergy shots are given on a schedule. Typically you receive a shot once or twice a week for about three to six months. After that, you need a shot about once a month for three to five years. For the first three to six months, the allergen dose is gradually increased with each shot. This helps your body accept the allergen as the harmless substance it is.

- Are allergy shots recommended for everyone with allergies?

Allergy shots are commonly used to treat allergic rhinitis (hay fever) and asthma. If you have seasonal hay fever or asthma, you may be allergic to pollens released by trees, grasses or weeds. If you have year-round hay fever or asthma, you may be sensitive to indoor allergens such as dust mites, cockroaches, mold or pet dander. Allergy shots may also control allergic reactions to stinging insects, such as bees, yellow jackets, hornets and wasps. But the shots don't work on all allergies or on all people with allergies. For example, they are not effective for food allergies. Allergy shots may not be good for you if you have severe asthma, and you should not get allergy shots for hay fever or asthma if you take a beta blocker for heart problems.

- Allergy medications, alone or in combination, can help relieve your allergy symptoms.

Allergy treatment usually starts with avoiding the substances (allergens) that cause the signs and symptoms. If you can minimize your exposure to allergens—which may include everything from pollen, mold, pet dander and dust mites to certain foods, drugs and chemicals—you will have less sneezing, coughing and itching. But because you cannot always avoid everything that triggers your allergies, your doctor may prescribe allergy medication. The right medication or combination of medications depends on the allergy symptoms you have. Allergy medications are available in pill, liquid, nasal spray, eyedrop and topical (applied to the skin) form, some over-the-counter and others by prescription only. To make the best choice, get advice from your doctor, and find out which medications are best for different symptoms.

The main types of allergy medications are:

- Corticosteroids: These medications help prevent and treat the inflammation associated with allergic conditions.
- Anti-histamines: These drugs block histamine, an inflammatory chemical released by your immune system during an allergic reaction.
- Decongestants: These drugs relieve nasal and sinus congestion.
- Leukotriene modifiers: These medications block the effects of leukotrienes, inflammatory chemicals released by your immune system during an allergic reaction.
- Mast cell stabilizers: These preparations prevent the release of histamine.

Services Offered:

- Medical Allergy Tests, Desensitication and treatment by our trained staff.

- Skin Tests: epidermal and intradermal skin tests to discover your sensitivity to particular allergens.

- Scientific Assessment of Allergic Reaction to:

1) Inhalant allergens (grasses, pollens, molds, yeasts, house dust mites, animal danders, etc.), which may cause asthma, hay fever, sinusitis and sleep disorders.

2) Contact allergens (biological and chemical sources), which may cause skin rashes.

3) Ingested allergens (drugs, foods and chemicals), which may cause bowel upsets, skin problems and food intolerances.

4) Arthropod allergens (bites and stings from insects and mites) andother allergens.

5) Allergy Desenstization (vaccination): treatment to specific allergens causing your allergy symptoms.

- Professional Vaccines: tailored to your individual needs.

- Epipen Training - personal and school training and treatment advice.

- Pathology testing and radiology (x-ray) facilities (complete range).

- Toxicological Assessment of body contamination profiles for pesticides, herbicides, hydrocarbons and heavy metals in blood, body fluids and fat.

- Mineral Assays of essential, or toxic compounds in the body tested by laboratory examination of cellular levels.

- Vitamin Assays to determine your blood levels of essential vitamins.

- Emerging Immunological Diseases such as Myofascial Syndrome, Myalgic Encephalomyelopathy and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Other services:

- Prescription service for all medications.
- Medical Reports by request.