Meritas Health ENT adds new allergy testing and immunotherapy services to its growing list of expertise. The new services include scratch testing and custom-formulated immunotherapy, an FDA-approved method to desensitize allergies which has been proven to effectively alleviate allergy symptoms for life in many cases.
Scott Knappenberger, MD
“We want the best possible care and treatment for our patients,” says Scott Knappenberger, MD, an otolaryngologist. “This new service can significantly increase our patients’ quality of life by reducing or eliminating allergy symptoms. Patients also benefit from a full time allergist and physicians who are available to address questions.” (see link at end of article about free session with Dr. Knappenberger)
Gold Standard
Meritas Health ENT tests adults and children over the age of 10 who suffer from seasonal allergies. “The testing is not painful. A tiny comb gently abrades the skin surface. After the test is performed, it takes about 15 minutes to develop. A positive test will appear as a raised, red bump on the skin, similar to a mosquito bite,” explains Pierre Podrebarac, MD an otolaryngologist.
Pierre Podrebarac, MD
“Used for more than 100 years, skin testing for the 48 most geographically-specific mold and airborne allergens continues to be the ‘gold standard’ for diagnosing allergic disease.” Immunotherapy medications are then custom-formulated based on the allergy test results. Individualized desensitization therapy can often allow patients to be around those allergens and avoid an allergic reaction. The treatment is also helpful for patients who suffer from asthma, allergic pneumonia, conjunctivitis, undiagnosed cough, dermatitis, insect allergy, rhinitis, sinusitis, urticaria and angioedema.
Resolving Allergies
Allergen immunotherapy introduces increasing amounts of allergens to a patient via self-injections over several months. Unlike some common allergy therapies, immunotherapy is administered in the comfort of the patient’s home, which saves time, money and trips to a physician’s office. Physicians see patients once a year when they are retested.
“At Meritas Health ENT, we understand that every patient is different. Each responds differently to different allergens. That’s why we custom-formulate every single dosage of our allergy medications specifically for the individual patient,” says Dr. Knappenberger.
“The patients we treat will appreciate that allergy immunotherapy can bring them relief and last for many years even after treatment ends,” adds Knappenberger “After their course of treatment, 80 to 90 percent of patients experience fewer allergy symptoms.” In many cases, their allergies have completely resolved.
Meritas Health ENT is located at 9411 N. Oak Trafficway in Kansas City, Missouri.
Join Dr. Knappenberger on Aug. 12, 6 to 7 p.m. when he shares more on this topic at a FREE session at the hospital.
