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Is there a particular type of allergy or treatment your practice specializes in?
"Our practice specializes in doing "Rush Immunotherapy" for people who have the common
allergies to airborne particles like dust mites, pollen, cat dander, etc. as well as to stinging insect venom in people who have
life-threatening allergies to insect stings from bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, fire ants.
I would say that this "Rush Immunotherapy Schedule" is the most exciting, scientifically-proven advancement in the allergy
field in the
last twenty years. While allergy shots have been around for a long time, the Rapid Schedule is what is new-- it is a much faster way (a few weeks rather than about 6 months) to build the
person up to a therapeutic dose so the person gets relief quicker and does not have to drive to doctor's office every week for six
weeks to reach that therapeutic dose like he used to have to do."
What do you love about your job?
"The reason I went into allergy was because I like the fact that you can make a
huge difference in people's lives, often young people and children, and allow them to not be miserable from the allergies,
which allows them to sleep better, play outdoors easier, tolerate their or their friend's pets better (mainly cats, b/c
cat allergy tends to typically be more severe than dog allergy), and to breathe better, especially helping asthmatic breathe better."
If you could suggest one thing for your patients what would it be?
"In terms of the most important home interventions,
they would be: keep pets out of the bedroom if you are pet-allergic and
buy dust mite bedding covers and dry sheets on high-heat if
you are dust-mite allergic."
What is your favorite allergy relief product?
"In terms of quick-acting allergy relief products, I like the antihistamine nasal spray, which
are prescription-only, because they can be used for daily preventive therapy as well as for occasional as-needed use.
The two antihistamine nasal sprays that are on the market are Patanase and Astepro. Steroid nasal sprays
(e.g. Flonase, Omnaris, Nasonex, Rhinocort) are also good and are just as effective for maintenance therapy as antihistamine nasal
sprays, but steroid nasal sprays do not offer quick-acting symptom improvement."
Where do you see allergy treatment going in the near future? In the distant future?
"Regarding food allergy, there is promising new research
showing that oral immunotherapy can reduce the severity of certain life-threatening food allergies (for peanut, milk, and egg allergy)
in children. Regarding allergic asthma, we have a new tool that we are using to diagnose and help us manage asthma with medications
that just came in the market in the last year (it's called an exhaled nitric oxide tester). Regarding nasal allergies, we are
constantly evaluating the optimal dose and schedule to give in immunotherapy/allergy shots that is most convenient for the patient and
is most effective at curing his allergies."
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