you feeling sick all year tong.

you feeling sick all year tong.

Getting better

• Recognition. Gadde said the first .step in allergy treatment is recognition of the root Cause — a process best handled by board-certified allergists. By performing a skin test, allergists can pinpoint exactly which kind of allergen is triggering your reaction. In the test, the skin is exposed to small amounts of a variety of allergens. The reaction reveals exactly to which allergens your body is allergic.

• Avoidance. Once you know what’s getting under your skin, you can try to stay away from the allergen. “That’s easier said than done," Gadde acknowledged.

• Medications. Antihistamines can stop an allergic reaction once it has already started, but in the meantime, you have to suffer the sneezes and wheezes. Some antihistamines can cause sleepiness, and ore not practical for people who need to work, go to school, operate a motor vehicle. or otherwise function effectively.

• Prevention. Gadde noted there are some preventive medications (like nasal sprays) that can prevent the allergic reaction from starting in the first place. But without addressing the underlying mechanism, any medication is just a band-aid, and when you stop taking it. your body will react again in the same way.

• Immunotherapy. One of the things Gadde said she epjoys the most about her profession is that she has the ability to completely cure patients. The cure is immunotherapy. commonly called “allergy shots." Over the course of a few years, immunotherapy patients receive shots containing increasing amounts of their allergen. “The body learns to make soldiers that can fight the enemy without all these other chemical weapons, so there is no damage* done, and no allergy symptoms," Gadde said. Eventually, the patient is cured, and the allergic reaction stops. The Allergy and Asthma Specialists of Greater Washington hns offices in Wnrrenton and Culpeper. For more information, visit www.sneezwheez doc.com or call (540) 428-1715.