Prior to any allergy treatment your doctor will need to determine what allergens you are allergic to; your doctor will recommend allergy skin tests. Along with your medical history, allergy tests can confirm whether signs and symptoms, such as sneezing, wheezing and skin rashes, are caused by allergies.

Allergy tests can also identify the specific substances that trigger allergic reactions. Information from allergy tests can help your doctor develop an allergy treatment plan that may include allergen avoidance, medications or allergy shots (immunotherapy).

Allergy Skin Tests
Puncture, prick or scratch test (percutaneous)

In this test, which is the most common type of skin test, tiny drops of purified allergen extracts are pricked or scratched into your skin's surface. This test is usually performed to identify allergies to pollen, mold, pet dander, dust mites and foods.

Allergy skin testing is widely used to diagnose allergic conditions such as:

• Hay fever
• Allergic asthma
• Dermatitis (eczema)
• Food allergies
• Penicillin allergy

Skin testing can be used for people of all ages, including infants and older adults. Skin testing is usually performed in a doctor's office. Typically, a nurse administers the test and a doctor interprets the results.

Allergy skin tests aren't painful; because the needles used in these tests barely penetrate your skin's surface, you won't bleed or feel more than mild, momentary discomfort.

Your allergy treatment plan may include medications, immunotherapy, environmental changes or dietary changes. Ask your doctor to explain anything about your diagnosis or treatment that you don't understand. With test results that identify your allergens and a treatment plan to help you take control, you'll be able reduce or eliminate allergy signs and symptoms.

Seasonal Allergy Treatments

Their are Different Types of Seasonal Allergy Treatments; allergy treatments come in different forms and work in a variety of ways. Here are some examples.

• Antihistamines are one of the most commonly used types of allergy medications. They block histamine, a chemical that is released by the body’s immune system. Antihistamines are available in several forms; for example, pills you swallow or as nasal sprays. Some antihistamines may cause drowsiness.
• Decongestants relieve congestion in the nose and sinuses. They work by constricting blood vessels in the nose. However, decongestants may sometimes lead to an increase in blood pressure. For this reason, and others, decongestants should be used with caution in people with certain common medical conditions, including high blood pressure.
• Nasal steroid sprays are used to prevent and treat the inflammation often caused by allergies. They can take up to a week to work. They also have been linked to worsening glaucoma and cataracts.
• Leukotriene blockers treat symptoms by blocking the effects of a chemical that is included in the allergic reaction.
• Immunotherapy, commonly called “allergy shots,” may help in cases of persistent seasonal allergic rhinitis. Allergy shots are given regularly over a period of years and contain allergen extracts. The goal is to reduce your sensitivity to specific allergens so that you are less likely to react or to react as strongly to them.

What are allergy shots?

Rush Immunotherapy

Rush immunotherapy involves giving a person multiple allergy shots over a period of many hours to days, achieving a maintenance dose (or near-maintenance dose) in a very short amount of time. After the initial period of rush immunotherapy, a person is able to come into the allergist’s office typically only once a week for the next many weeks, then even less often. People undergoing rush immunotherapy also achieve benefit from allergy shots much faster, usually within a few weeks

Rapid build-up schedules for allergy shots are used by some allergists in order to achieve a higher dose of allergy shots faster, which results in benefit of the shots sooner. These schedules also result in a person getting to a “maintenance dose” faster, as well as being able to come into the allergist’s office less often for allergy shots once this maintenance dose is achieved. There are two types of rapid build-up schedules –- Rush Immunotherapy and Cluster Immunotherapy.

Rush Immunotherapy has an allergic reactions in a large percentage of people, so various medications (such as antihistamines and corticosteroids) are often given in order to prevent or minimize these reactions. A person undergoing rush immunotherapy should be prepared to spend at least a couple of days in the allergist’s office, receiving many allergy shots over this time.

Cluster immunotherapy

Cluster Immunotherapy involves giving two or more allergy shots at each visit, usually spaced apart by 20 to 30 minutes or so. This procedure is performed once or twice a week, and also allows for a person to get to their maintenance dose much quicker. While some studies have shown that cluster immunotherapy results in higher rates of allergic reactions than traditional schedules for allergy shots, other studies show no difference for rates of allergic reactions. Some allergists recommend medications, such as antihistamines, to minimize these reactions during cluster immunotherapy, while others do not.

Both rush and cluster immunotherapy offer an alternative to traditional schedules for allergy shots, allowing a person to achieve higher doses of allergy shots much quicker, and therefore get benefit sooner. However, both forms probably result in an increased rate of allergic reactions, particularly for rush immunotherapy. And, both are more of a time commitment up front, with rush immunotherapy typically taking a full day (or more), and cluster immunotherapy taking an hour or more for every visit initially.

Rush and Cluster Immunotherapy are commonly used for people with venom allergy. This allows for quicker protection against allergic reactions to future insect stings, and may actually be a safer way to treat people with venom allergies who have had problem with allergic reactions to their allergy shots.

Often, allergists have typical ways of giving allergy shots to their patients, and they tend to offer this typical build-up style to all of their patients. Most allergists don’t simply give their patients the choice of build-up schedule.

How are allergy shots given?

Are Allergy Shots Safe?

Allergy shots are really like vaccinations: They boost the defenses of the immune system to help the body block the allergic reaction. In the hands of a well-trained and experienced health professional, allergy shots are safe and effective and can be given to children as young as 4 or 5 years old.

Allergy shots, which are given year-round, work better against some substances than others. Generally, the shots are most effective against insect venoms and allergens that are inhaled, such as pollens, dust, molds, and animal dander.

When your child receives allergy shots, he or she may experience a reaction near the site of the injection. A patch of skin on the arm approximately the size of a quarter may itch and swell. This reaction is a signal that the body is responding to the allergen. You can treat this reaction by applying ice to the area and giving your child an antihistamine. More serious reactions, such as hives and itching all over your child's body or wheezing and breathing difficulties, are unusual and occur in less than 2% of patients.

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