Your First Visit
New Patients: Please visit our forms page to print and fill out your medical forms prior to your appointment.
Your initial visit is a fairly lengthy one. Realizing that this an important evaluation, we will schedule approximately ninety minutes of office time. If you are visiting the office for allergies, allergy skin testing is generally recommended. Since antihistamines interfere with testing, please do not take any medications containing antihistamines for 7 full days prior to your appointment. If stopping the antihistamines presents a problem you can discuss this with our staff when scheduling your appointment. If you do take an antihistamine prior to your appointment please keep your appointment with the doctor. We can reschedule the skin testing for a later date with our nursing staff.
At your initial visit the doctor will do a review of history with analysis of past records if available, a physical examination from the waist up with emphasis on the organ system of most concern, laboratory examination and a lung function determination for patients with chest complaints.
After the exam and testing is done the doctor will make specific recommendations regarding methods of avoidance of various allergens, such as pollens(trees,grass,weeds), house dust, animal danders, molds and mite. Topics frequently discussed include the use of vacuums, allergy covers for mattress and pillows, air purifiers, etc.
Patients with strong positive skin tests and symptoms affecting their daily life may be candidates for immunotherapy (allergy shots).
Medications can play a major role in controlling allergy symptoms. Emphasis is on using those medications which protect the body against the development of symptoms rather than medications that are simply used to reverse symptoms that are already present. We will discuss with you the most effective way to utilize medications to prevent your allergies and asthma, while at the same time minimizing the need for further medications that tend to be used for acute symptoms.
