How an Allergist Can Help You: An allergist is a medical practitioner who specializes in diagnosing and treating allergic reactions. Statistics show that 8% of the population suffers from food allergies, 7.8% of Americans suffer from Hay Fever, 10% of the world’s population is allergic to some medical drugs, and 20% of people have a skin allergy of some kind or another.
In St. Louis, these numbers are even higher. Unfortunately, many people do not know they are allergic until they are suffering from a reaction or are suffering for so long that they end up going to the doctor. Many people pass off allergy symptoms as just ‘the flu’ ‘a cold’ or simply ignore it and hope it will go away on its own. Because many people are allergic to dust, soaps, pets, and a wide range of food and pets, these symptoms often will not go away until a diagnosis is made.
Asthma and Allergy
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, St. Louis Chapter (AAFA-STL), a United Way Agency, has been serving the asthmatic and allergic needs of the St. Louis community for over 30 years. AAFA-STL’s medical assistance program, BREATH (formerly Project Concern), provides uninsured and underinsured children with life-saving asthma and allergy prescription assistance, equipment, education, and support. RESCUE (Resources for Every School Confronting Unexpected Emergencies) is AAFA-STL’s school nurse program, which helps to provide asthma equipment to schools in our service area. Our educational programs and resources reach families, schools, and nurses all over the Greater St. Louis area. The organization is a proud member of the United Way of Greater St. Louis and Variety the Children’s Charity.
Diagnose the Issue: The most important thing that a St. Louis allergist can do for you is find out why you are sick. The allergist will most often test a sample of your blood against known allergens and then tell you what you are allergic to. Knowledge is power, and in the case of allergens, it empowers you to avoid the allergen in the future. Persons who are allergic to pets can get rid of them, persons who are allergic to pollen can close the windows, and those who are allergic to foods can avoid those foods. An allergen’s diagnosis gives you the power to avoid what is making you sick so you can live happy.
| Allergy & Asthma Health Care | 314-821-2100 | Des Peres |
| Allergy & Asthma Consultants | 314-569-1881 | Creve Coeur |
| Asthma and Allergy Foundation of St. Louis | 314-645-2422 | Delmar |
| Environmental Health and Allergy Center | 314-921-5600 | Creve Coeur |
| Gateway Asthma & Allergy Relief | 618-277-1413 | South County |
| St Louis Sinus Center | 314-473-5333 | Ladue |
Allergist St. Louis
Medicine: Another thing that an allergen can do for you is to diagnose medicine to help with reactions. Whether your reaction is mild or severe, there are medications to help with suppressing the symptoms so that you can exist normally around pets, plants, or soaps without a bad reaction. While it isn’t a good idea to keep the allergy causing thing around and simply suppress the symptoms, you can take medicine whenever symptoms appear so that you do not have to suffer. Great examples include for those allergic to common food additives, allergic to soaps, or allergic to anything that they could accidentally come in contact with.
Great Reasons to visit your allergist include if you:
Have persistent cold symptoms
Suffer from constant headaches
Have red bumps or rash
Have trouble breathing
Asthma St. Louis
Each of these symptoms can be a sign of allergies, and some of them can be quite serious! St Louis health and wellness providers can be serious so if you are suffering from them, or suffering for an unknown cause, you should consider visiting an allergist. Many people have allergies they do not even know about so you might want to check into it. Importantly, if you have a severe allergy, a St. Louis allergist can save your life by giving you the knowledge and the medicine you need to avoid a reaction. While there are a lot of factors involved including how rare your allergen is and how serious your reaction, you might someday be very glad you went to your STL allergist.
Allergy Resources
American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology
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