Allergy Pain Treatment in Austin, TX
Are allergies causing you daily pain?
If you’ve been suffering from allergy symptoms like itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezing, then you know how painful allergies can be. Allergies can cause you to miss out on things like work, school, and hobbies. If you are ready to take your life back, then it’s time to schedule with Dr. Leeman.
I’m ready to live life my way
Why do I suffer from allergies?
Allergies are typically hereditary because your genetic makeup is linked to how your immune system protects your body. The immune system is normally good at keeping you healthy by producing antibodies that attack dangerous foreign substances. However, the immune system sometimes confuses harmless substances with dangerous ones, and this is where your allergy symptoms come from. This harmless substance that causes your body to react is called an allergen. Anytime one of your allergens enters the body, your immune system will attack it and cause an allergic reaction.
Common Allergens
While your specific combination of allergens may be unique to you, there are common allergens that include:
- Certain foods like milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish.
- Insects can cause allergies from their bites, stings, or by their presence. Common non-biting insects that cause allergies are cockroaches and dust mites.
- Inhalants such as pollen, dust mites, pet dander, mold, and fungus can cause allergies.
- Skin contact from latex, plants, soaps, cosmetics, and jewelry can cause a skin rash allergy.
- Some medications can cause allergic reactions; however, most medication reactions are non-allergic.
Anaphylaxis
Some allergic reactions can be very serious pending how your body reacts to certain allergens. Anaphylaxis occurs when your allergic reaction rapidly brings on life-threatening symptoms. Symptoms caused by anaphylaxis include an itchy rash, swollen throat, shortness of breath, lightheadedness, tongue swelling, vomiting, and low blood pressure.
Common Allergy Symptoms
Your combination of symptoms may be unique to you based on your allergens and the severity of your reactions but some common allergy symptoms to look out for include:
- Itchy, watery eyes
- Sinus congestion
- Sneezing
- Headaches
- Sore throat
- Rashes
- Shortness of breath
Allergy Testing
The most common form of allergy testing is skin prick testing. During the skin prick test, your skin is scratched or pricked with several allergens at once. It is also pricked with a control group to see what a non-allergic reaction looks like on your skin. You will then be diagnosed based on the way your skin reacts to the allergens and control group.
At Daniel Leeman ENT, we use an allergy treatment and testing method called Allergy123. With Allergy123, testing is streamlined and simplified, with a patented and FDA-approved testing technology. A single, simple 15-minute test will assess and identify the presence of 58 of the most common local airborne allergens. Testing is done with a skin prick on the forearms during an appointment that requires a total of 45 minutes.
How do we treat allergies?
Avoidance of Triggers
Actively avoiding your allergens is a good way to reduce symptoms. However, we know that is not always possible which is why there are other treatment options.
Using Medication
Medications such as antihistamines and decongestants can help reduce allergy symptoms, but they will not get to the root cause. Certain medications are also not recommended for long-term use.
Immunotherapy: Safe long-term allergy treatment
Immunotherapy is a long-term allergy treatment that retrains your body so that it doesn’t react to your allergens. Immunotherapy can help rapidly reduce allergy symptoms. Our Allergy123 immunotherapy treatment method is a type of allergy shot that will help your body become resistant to your allergens.
I want more info about allergy treatments
Why should I choose Dr. Daniel J. Leeman for allergy testing and treatment?
If you have been suffering from allergies and haven’t found any successful treatment options, you need to choose Dr. Leeman. Operating in private practice for two decades, Dr. Daniel J. Leeman is dedicated to caring for his patients with honesty and compassion. His approach to every patient is backed by years of education and experience.
What is Balloon Sinuplasty?
With traditional sinus surgery, the surgeon removes tissue and bone to make the sinus opening bigger to help clear blocked sinuses and restore proper sinus drainage. Also, recovery after a sinus surgery procedure can often involves carring and pain.
With a Balloon Sinuplasty procedure, the surgeon dilates the sinus openings which can clear up any infection and restore normal drainage. On average, the Balloon Sinuplasty procedure takes around an hour.
Other benefits include:
- No cutting or removal of tissue or bones like traditional sinus surgery
- Less bleeding
- Helps preserve healthy mucus membranes, nasal tissues, and structure
- Lower infection risk than with traditional sinus surgery
- 95% success rate
How Much Does Balloon Sinuplasty Cost?
Choosing Balloon Sinuplasty over traditional sinus surgeries can save you both money and time. You will have minimal time off work, none of the costs associated with surgery in a hospital, no long recovery, and, best of all, Balloon Sinuplasty is covered by most insurances. In fact, in 2014, the American Academy of Otolaryngology issued a statement calling for all medical insurance companies to consider providing coverage for the cost of the Balloon Sinuplasty procedure.
However, some insurance companies continue to make it difficult to qualify for Balloon Sinuplasty. Several consider it to be an elective procedure that should not be covered.
To find out if your policy covers Balloon Sinuplasty, contact your insurance company. It is always a good idea to check with your insurance company to be sure you understand all of your plan's features.
Why Should I Choose Dr. Leeman for my Balloon Sinuplasty Procedure
Dr. Leeman is a double board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon. He is also a member of the American Board of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery. As such, he has been specially trained in the anatomy, physiology, and treatment of diseases of the ear, nose, throat, neck, and head.
With his experience serving the Austin community for nearly 20 years, he has diagnosed and performed many successful procedures to treat these areas of the body, using the most up-to-date techniques—both surgical and non-surgical.
If you have any other questions about what Balloon Sinuplasty could do for you, feel free to schedule an appointment and we would be happy to discuss everything in more detail.
