Allergy Relief in Los Angeles

Get Relief From Your Allergies with Our ENT Services in Torrance and Santa Monica

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Overview Causes & Symptoms Treatments FAQs Why Daneshrad

Overview

Allergy Treatment In Los Angeles, Santa Monica, & Torrance, CA

Over 50 million Americans are estimated to suffer from allergies yearly, causing sneezing, congestion, and itchy eyes. Dr. Daneshrad, one of the top ENTs in Los Angeles, specializes in diagnosing and treating allergies at our Santa Monica and Torrance locations, helping patients find relief from these persistent and disruptive symptoms.

What Are Allergies?

Allergies are abnormal responses of your immune system to substances called allergens. Allergens are normally harmless, but some of the most common allergens that affect the ear, nose, and throat are pollen, dust, mold, and animal dander. When exposed to allergens, our body releases various chemicals, including histamine, which causes the allergic reaction.

Causes & Symptoms

Signs and Symptoms of Allergies

Most allergic reactions involving the ear, nose, and throat are mild but can still interfere with everyday activities. Allergy symptoms include:

Sneezing
Runny nose
Congestion
Post-nasal drip caused by nasal rhinitis
Headaches
Itching
Soreness of the throat or ears

More severe reactions, such as anaphylaxis, are rare, but they can be life-threatening. Given that ENT allergies are reactions to airborne allergens, you may also experience an allergic reaction in your eyes, skin, lungs, or gastrointestinal tract.

What Causes Allergies?

The precise cause of allergies remains unknown, but a hereditary factor may be involved. If one parent has allergies, their child is likely to also have allergies. A child is more likely to develop an allergy if both parents suffer from allergies. The specific allergy that the child suffers from may differ from the one affecting the parent. Allergies can also develop over time once a threshold of exposure to allergens in Los Angeles has been reached.

How Are Allergies Diagnosed?

At Daneshrad Clinic ENT in Santa Monica and Torrance, we use Modified Quantitative Testing to diagnose your specific allergens. This is a two-part skin test:

Skin Prick Test: Concentrated allergens are applied to the outer skin through a skin prick-testing device.
Intradermal Dilution Testing: A small amount of diluted allergens is placed just under the surface of the skin.

We combine the results of both tests to create a personalized immunotherapy treatment plan. If the skin test results are inconclusive, we may use a blood test that measures the amount of allergy-causing antibodies in your bloodstream.

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Treatments

How Can Allergies Be Treated?

The most effective allergy treatment is simply to avoid exposure to allergens. However, this is not always possible. For outdoor allergies, remaining indoors during certain seasons can help to relieve symptoms. Since allergens often enter the body through the eyes, wraparound sunglasses may also be helpful. Other allergy treatments include antihistamines, decongestants, nasal sprays, and eye drops. Allergy shots, a type of immunotherapy, may also be used as treatment. It’s important to consult with Dr. Daneshrad, who is considered the best allergy doctor in Los Angeles, regarding your personalized allergy treatment options.

FAQs

FAQs About Allergies

How do I know if I have allergies, or is it just a cold?

Allergies and colds share many symptoms, like a runny nose, nasal congestion, coughing, sneezing, sore throat, post-nasal drip, and red eyes. However, their causes and symptom patterns differ. Allergies typically cause itchy, watery eyes, while colds can include fever (especially with severe cases), more intense sore throats, and body aches. Additionally, eczema is a possible symptom of allergies, but not of colds.

When you’re unsure if you’re just dealing with another annoying cold or you have an allergy that needs addressing, look at certain details:

Speed of Symptoms: Cold symptoms usually develop over a day or two. Allergies seem to develop immediately.
Length of Symptoms: Colds usually last only a week or so. Allergies result from exposure to the allergen.
Predictable Symptoms: If you have symptoms every June when a certain tree pollinates, you know it’s an allergy.
Itchy Eyes: Colds don’t usually cause itchy or watery eyes, and they never cause a skin reaction like eczema.

What are the risks of allergy shots?

Most people have no trouble with allergy shots, but they do introduce a small amount of the allergen into the patient’s system, so they can cause a reaction. These are possible reactions:

Local Reactions: Redness, swelling, or irritation at the injection site. They usually happen within a few hours but pass soon thereafter.
Systemic Reactions: These are rare but more serious. The patient develops sneezing, nasal congestion, or hives. In more serious cases, there may be chest tightness, throat swelling, or wheezing.
Anaphylaxis: This is a very rare but life-threatening reaction. It can cause low blood pressure and trouble breathing. This reaction usually begins within 30 minutes of having the shot.
Sinusitis and Ear Infections: The introduction of allergens can create sinus and ear infections.

What plants typically cause allergies in Los Angeles?

Pollen is the usual culprit for plant-caused allergies. If your allergies come on in the fall, they are probably due to a fall pollinator, such as tumbleweed. In the spring, they could be due to trees such as oaks or grasses.

Here are some common allergen producers:

Trees — birch, elm, cedar, oak, pine, cottonwood, walnut
Weeds — English plantain, lamb’s quarters, ragweed, redroot pigweed, sagebrush, tumbleweed
Grasses — All grasses, from St. Augustine in the south to bluegrass everywhere else, can cause allergies

The most common plant on the above list is ragweed. Ragweed grows everywhere, and its pollen season runs from August to November. Hot, dry, windy days during that period make ragweed the enemy of many allergy sufferers.

Will moving improve my allergies?

Moving would improve things if you live in an area prone to conditions that exacerbate your allergies. For instance, a move from the dusty Southwest to the wetter Northwest could help. But that seems extreme. Unless moving is something you want to pursue for other reasons, such as a job change, it is better to try and treat your allergy condition with the team at the Daneshrad Clinic. We can provide allergy shots and help you to develop immunity to the offending allergens.

Can an adult develop allergies even if you didn’t have them as a child?

Yes. Many people had no allergies as children, but suddenly, at age 45, they now have allergic reactions every time the oak tree out front pollinates. Scientists don’t understand why a person can go through his or her life without reacting to a specific allergen, and then suddenly, one day, your body views it as an invader and responds by releasing histamines and causing allergy symptoms.

Why daneshrad clinic

Get Allergy Relief From the Best Allergy Specialist in Los Angeles

At Daneshrad Clinic ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery, we know how to fight off allergies. At our two locations in Santa Monica and Torrance, allergy care begins with a proper diagnosis and treatment with a customized approach. We serve patients across Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Torrance, Brentwood, Malibu, Culver City, Marina del Rey, Venice, Pacific Palisades, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and Palos Verdes for all their allergy issues. Dr. Daneshrad’s team offers expert treatment options to help manage allergy symptoms and restore your quality of life. If you are struggling with constant allergy symptoms, contact the best allergy ENT in Los Angeles today to schedule a consultation to get permanent relief.

Treatment options

Allergy Shots

Sublingual Immunotherapy Drops

Balloon Sinuplasty

Sinus Surgery