21st-century allergy treatment

I’ve been in this field for over 25 years. In that time, it’s become abundantly clear to me that we need a new way of identifying, managing, and treating allergies and the health issues they cause. 

20th century allergy treatment focused on seasonal allergies (pollen and ragweed) environmental allergies (pet dander and mold) and food allergies. 20th century asthma treatment was based on inhalers and steroids. Today, we’re seeing cases that are more complex, and the solutions are found outside traditional treatments.

Consider this example: A mother came to me with twin toddlers. They had eczema and asthma and were on several daily medications and treatments. At only two years old. Yet with all the specialists they’d seen, no one had thought to look at their diet. With thorough testing, research, and analysis, we discovered they had a food allergy. Once the allergen was removed from their diet, their symptoms cleared and we were able to get them off the medications. 

Treating the cause to defeat the symptoms

As I saw more and more patients who were on treatments that weren’t working,  I realized that we needed a new way to treat allergies and asthma. We needed to treat the cause, in order to defeat the symptoms. I wanted to determine what was really going on. This required looking at  the whole patient, doing the research and testing to find the root causes.  A few years ago, I was introduced to functional medicine, and everything I’d been seeing suddenly made sense. 

Functional medicine is 21st century allergy treatment

We have to look beyond outside environmental allergies such as pollen, molds, pet dander and dust mites. We have to understand the role of our internal environment, at the cellular level of the gut. We have to address the effects of diet, sleep, stress, hormones, and fitness on our health. Traditional allergy treatment, which is based around suppressing the allergy antibody IgE, is too narrow. It does not address 21st century allergic problems, or many of the chronic medical problems that are prevalent today. Functional medicine does. 

Launching the AAPRI Center for Functional Medicine

Although I consider myself a functional allergist and integrate functional medicine in my allergy and asthma practice, I knew we needed to do more. That’s why we opened our Center for Functional Medicine. Through the Center, we can take the time to find the root causes of your symptoms and give you the tools to heal. Our focus is on allergy, because that’s our expertise, but most patients benefit from functional medicine holistically — they feel better, they maintain a healthy weight, and they rebuild their health. 

I would like to invite you to take control of your health, today. Come to one of our wellness seminars to learn more. See how 21st century allergy treatment can help you live the life you were meant to live.