Allergy Care

Allergies happen when your body’s immune system reacts to substances that wouldn’t cause a reaction in most people. Your immune system “misreads” something that is otherwise completely harmless. There are many different types of allergies, but ENTs focus specifically on otololaryngic allergies, in which the symptoms affect the nose, throat, and sinuses. Our experts are members of the American Academy of otololaryngic allergies. Our allergy services include:

Allergy Testing

Our team tests for 40+ inhalant allergens that are common to Northern California, including trees, grass, weeds, molds, dust mites, animals, and more. We then advise you on the options you have in treating your allergies. Results are normally obtained within an hour.

Allergy Treatment

If immunotherapy is the best option for treating your allergies, our ENTs will take you through that process. Once they have determined what you are allergic to, they inject you with extracts of those allergens to gradually desensitize your immune system to them. Over time, your immune system learns to stop overreacting to the allergens. Normally those injections are given once a week for a number of months and then reduced to bi-monthly and eventually to just once a month. The goal is to make you feel better while cutting back or eliminating your allergy medications.