How Are Allergies Treated?

The best treatment for allergies is to identify the allergic substances (allergens) that are causing problems through allergy testing and avoid these offending agents. In some cases, such as food allergies, this may be the only treatment that is required.

When avoidance is not possible or not fully effective, medications and specific allergy treatment are often helpful. The choice of treatments depends on the allergic problem.

  • Allergic rhinitis or nasal allergy

    • The most effective allergy medications are prescription nasal sprays. There are two classes of nasal sprays.

    • Nasal steroids use low doses of steroid medications that act on the allergy cells in the mucus membranes to decrease the allergic response in the nose.
    • Nasal antihistamines act in the nose to block the effects of histamine and other chemicals that cause nasal symptoms.

    Oral medications include anti-histamines and decongestants that work to block the symptoms of nasal allergy. 

    For people with nasal allergies or asthma whose symptoms cannot be adequately controlled with avoidance measures and medications, treatment with allergen immunotherapy (“allergy shots“) is usually very helpful in reducing symptoms.

  • Allergic conjunctivitis or eye allergy

    • Eye drops are usually the most effective medication for conjunctivitis.

    Oral antihistamines can him minimize eye symptoms.

    Some steroid nasal sprays decrease eye symptoms.

  • Food allergy

    • There is no medication that is helpful for food allergy.

    It is possible to induce tolerance to a problem food by a procedure called desensitization that is similar in principle to allergy shots. The process uses carefully increasing doses of the problem food to alter the body’s allergic sensitivity. 

     

  • Eczema

    • Often there is no external trigger for eczema and avoidance is not possible.

    Regular, careful skin care is the cornerstone of eczema treatment.

    Steroid creams and ointments are useful when skin care and moisturization alone do not control the problem.

    Non-steroid medications that suppress allergic activity in the skin are also useful.

    In particularly difficult cases potent immunomodulatory therapies may be used.

  • Asthma

    • There are several classes of medications used for the treatment of asthma. Please go to the asthma page.

  • Urticaria (hives)

    • Hives are occasionally caused by an identifiable allergic trigger and avoiding that trigger is the best treatment when that is possible.

    When the trigger can be identified or avoided, antihistamines are the first step in treatment of hives.

    If antihistamines don’t control hives the treatment becomes more complex and is always carefully individualized.