Allergy & Environmental Medicine

Environmental medicine is the specialty in which doctors assist patients in finding the cause of their symptoms by exploring environmental factors that may impact their health, and helping them avoid or deal with the inciting factors. Dr. Epperly is a fellow in the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy (AAOA) and a member of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM). The extensive training he has received through these organizations has enabled him to more successfully treat a wide variety of the most commonly experienced chronic health problems.

Allergies and sensitivities are abnormal responses by the body to substances that the body recognizes as foreign, and to which most people normally don't react. Such substances include dust mite feces, pollen, mold spores, foods, chemicals, and drugs. Any system of the body can be affected in a large variety of ways. In fact, some specialists in this field say that you can get just about any kind of symptom from any kind of substance.

To effectively treat your allergies, some kind of allergy testing may need to be done. There are several different testing methods. First, there is a blood test called a Modified RAST. This test measures how much allergy antibody called IgE is present against various things you might inhale or ingest. Allergy shots can be started based on the results of these tests.

A second method of testing involves injecting tiny amounts of antigen serum at various concentrations into the skin and measuring how much the little bump grows in ten minutes. this is called intracutaneous testing. Depending on the exact method used, the results may be used to either begin once a week allergy shots in the office, or self-administered home therapy with daily shots or drops placed under the tongue (sublingual therapy).

Shots given in the office will usually result in a lessening of allergy symptoms within six months. If there is no improvement in allergy symptoms by that time, and certainly by the end of a year, then other answers must be sought, because something is being missed. Home therapy should result in noticeable symptom relief in one or two weeks if not immediately. The method used is decided upon by you and Dr. Epperly together.

An important way of assessing your food sensitivities is the Elimination and Challenge trial. This basically entails changing your diet for a time to include only those foods that you normally wouldn't eat more than once a week. This may be done for 5-21 days to see if any of your chronic symptoms clear. Then, you reintroduce basic foods back into your diet one day at a time, and observe for any symptoms over a 24 hour period. Symptoms appearing during that time are likely due to the food you introduced that day.

One of the most important elements of environmental medicine is learning how to avoid things that trigger symptoms or add to your total load. This is something we emphasize in our practice. We also try and help make your body better able to handle exposures by supporting other systems of your body that contribute to better tolerance.