Allergy

In the office, we decided to bring in allergy prick testing. It is very simple. All you have to do is grab the prick device dip it in the wells and apply it to the patient's skin. Then after 30 minutes compare it to the positive control (histamine) and compare.

The common treatments for allergies are usually OTC medications like allegra or claritin. However, for some patients these medications are not enough. So they turn to treatment options such as SCIT(subcutaneous immunotherapy). This involves the patient coming into the office and receiving shots of the specified allergens according to their allergy test. They then receive shots of increasing concentration until they can reach "maintenance" or to the point where they only need to take a shot once a month to maintain their allergy relief.

I personally did SCIT at one point. However, continually going into the office and continually paying a copay adds up very quickly. In Europe, there is a very similar treatment called SLIT(sublingual immunotherapy). You simply apply the treatment under your tongue and increase the concentrations over time. It is not as accepted in the states but it very well could be.