Asthma and Allergy Tests: A User-centric Guide

Millions of people in the US suffer from different kinds of asthma and allergies. An essential first step to effective treatment is to find out the causes of your asthma and allergy. Asthma and allergy centers aid you to obtain better diagnosis and treatment for these health problems. They are considered better than private clinics and hospitals due to their wide availability and specialized treatments.

Read on to learn more about asthma and allergy tests that these centers offer.

Asthma Tests

Spirometry

It is the first and the most commonly conducted lung or, pulmonary function test (PFT). This test helps to measure how much and how rapidly you can move air out of your lungs. This lung function measurement test specifically takes into account the amount (volume) and the speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled or exhaled. It requires you to breathe into a mouthpiece connected to a recording device or spirometer. The information that the spirometer collects is printed out on a chart called a spirogram. Spirometry is an essential tool used to help assess asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

Xolair

Xolair is a treatment meant only for patients with high Immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels and suffering from moderate to severe asthma. Xolair for hypodermic use is an injection, similar to allergy shots; binding the lgE and inactivating it. It is typically used to treat children aged 12 and older as well as adults suffering from:

Moderate to Severe Continuous Asthma

Under this condition, patients fail to get relief from asthma symptoms even after inhaling corticosteroids. Besides, the patients have to go through a skin or blood test to check if they have short-term allergies to year-round allergens.

Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria (CIU)

H1 antihistamine treatment cannot control this type of Urticaria. Chronic Urticaria is hardly the consequence of an allergy. Rather, most of chronic hives’ cases have an unknown (idiopathic) cause.

Allergy Tests

Rush Immunotherapy

Rush or accelerated immunotherapy is done quite fast with the ultimate aim to increase your endurance to an allergen. Different routines for the allergy shots try to achieve a maintenance dose that is quicker than standard immunotherapy. A rush immunotherapy schedule may consist of shots given after every few hours, instead of after every few days or weeks. Moreover, the maintenance dose is reached in one to eight days. Asthma and allergy center is the right place to conduct rush immunotherapy, as emergency care is readily available there.

Sublingual Immunotherapy

Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT) makes use of allergy drops placed under the tongue to treat the cause of your allergy. Specific allergens that you are allergic to are put under your tongue and these allergens interact with special immune cells. Repeated doses of these drops turn your immune system less prone to allergies. SLIT treats your immune abnormality, i.e. its hyper-responsiveness to allergens such as pollen, dust, insect sting, food, animal dander, mold, medications, and latex. These allergic reactions may occur in the nose, sinuses, lungs, skin or GI tract.

Conclusion

Now that you have learned about the different kinds of asthma and allergy treatments available, you should visit asthma and allergy centers if you suffer from any of these diseases. Physicians available at these widespread centers care better for their patients.

Cochlear Implants: One Name, Many Benefits

Hearing loss constitutes as one of the major disabilities that most of the people face today. Several causes of hearing loss include birth defects, loud noises, accidents, and illnesses. Many people suffering from this ailment look for ways to get rid of this problem, which is why they often resort to hearing aids. Hearing aids may, however, not always effectively work for hearing loss treatment. Cochlear Implants or CIs, therefore, emerge as a popular and accepted treatment method for children and adults with the acute sensorineural hearing loss. Audiologists in Houston or any other part of the US are experts at Cochlear Implant Mapping.

Dig in to learn the various benefits of Cochlear Implants. 

Hearing Loss Relief 

The most important benefit of cochlear implants is to relieve people suffering from sensorineural hearing loss. This kind of hearing loss takes place when there is damage to the inner ear of the cochlea or the nerve pathways travelling from the inner ear to the brain. This permanent type of hearing loss cannot be medically corrected. Cochlear implants, however, act as the only treatment for severe to profound hearing loss. They sidestep the damaged inner part of the ear to directly stimulate the hearing nerve. Unlike hearing aids, they convert sound wave to electrical impulses; helping you hear sounds in a natural manner.

Hearing Regain 

Another advantage of taking a cochlear implant is that you have brilliant chances of regaining some, if not all, of your hearing. Environmental sounds become distinct, and your understanding of speech also improves. You no longer need to learn sign language and lip reading. In fact, apart from complementing lip-reading, cochlear implants help you hone your ability to regulate the volume and pitch of your voice. When your hearing ability betters, you communicate well, therefore, enjoying a more functional and fuller life. Most importantly, more job opportunities open up for you; taking your confidence to the highest level.

Safety 

Hearing is one of the five key senses, the absence of which endangers your life. There may be times when your hearing aid stop functioning properly; putting you face-to-face with life-threatening dangers. Cochlear implants, on the other hand, enables you to be aware of dangerous situations around you and you are able to sense when such situations emerge in front of you.

Conclusion 

Audiologists in Houston, or any other city in the US, offer cochlear implant mapping services to patients suffering from hearing loss. They ascertain various factors while diagnosing you for hearing problems, including your age, overall health, any existing or recurring health issues, the cause and the amount of hearing loss, and other medical information. Only then, they decide for cochlear implant treatment for you.