Bumpy, red, itchy skin may mean you have skin allergies. The team at Houston Pulmonary, Sleep & Allergy Associates provides allergy testing and treatment for a range of uncomfortable skin conditions, including hives, eczema, contact dermatitis, and more. With locations in Cypress and Houston, Texas, you can count on getting rapid diagnosis and treatment at your convenience. Call for a skin allergy consultation or book your visit online today.
Skin allergies come in various forms, with the most common ones including:
Eczema is an umbrella term for a group of skin conditions affecting up to 20% of children and 3% of adults. With eczema, your skin feels itchy, dry, inflamed, and rough.
Hives are red welts or bumps that go by the medical term urticaria. Exposure to an allergen or an infection is the most common reason for an acute or sudden attack of hives.
When your skin comes in contact with an irritant or an allergen, it can trigger contact dermatitis. Itchy bumps are a common sign of contact dermatitis.
Angioedema is a treatable group of immune system responses that involve swellings on the skin, tongue, throat, or intestines.
Exposure to allergens and irritants can trigger contact dermatitis and other skin allergies. Chronic hives, on the other hand, can flare up when you come into contact with an array of substances and irritants, such as:
Family history also may play a role. Atopic dermatitis, the most common sort of eczema, is caused by a genetic variation that affects how your skin maintains moisture. Healthy skin forms a barrier against allergens. But when you have atopic dermatitis, your skin’s line of defense doesn’t protect it well enough, increasing your risk of an allergic reaction.
Your allergist at Houston Pulmonary, Sleep & Allergy Associates generally recommends a skin prick test or intradermal test to find out what’s behind your allergic reaction. As the name suggests, the skin prick test involves a tiny poke in your skin with a needle. The needle introduces a minute amount of the suspected allergen. Your allergist then watches for a reaction.
Sometimes you need a different test, where your allergist injects a small amount of the suspected allergen under the surface of your skin.
Allergy testing generally takes just about an hour. Once you find out your results, your allergist works with you to avoid those allergens and recommends a treatment plan tailored to your skin allergy.
With eczema, a combination of trigger avoidance, oral medications and prescription creams, and at-home care should give you measurable relief. Try to regularly moisturize your skin and avoid scratchy clothing to minimize your eczema flare-ups.
For lasting relief from skin allergies, your allergist may recommend allergy shots. Doctors call this line of treatment immunotherapy. Immunotherapy works to gradually buildup your natural immunity to an allergen or allergens.
You can expect to visit Houston Pulmonary, Sleep & Allergy Associates for a series of injections over several years until you’re naturally immune.
If you’re ready to be free of skin allergies, call Houston Pulmonary, Sleep & Allergy Associates or book your consultation online today.
