Skin Allergies

What are the types of skin allergies?

Skin allergies come in various forms, with the most common ones including:

Eczema

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

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. 

Contact dermatitis

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. 

Recurrent Angioedema

Angioedema is a treatable group of immune system responses that involve swellings on the skin, tongue, throat, or intestines.

Why do I have skin allergies?

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:

• Peanuts and other foods
• Medications
• Bug bites
• Temperature changes
• Latex
• Pet dander 
• Pollen

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.

How do I find out the source of my skin allergy?

Your allergist at Texas Multi-Specialty Group 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.

What are the treatments for skin allergies?

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 Texas Multi-Specialty Group for a series of injections over several years until you’re naturally immune.

If you’re ready to be free of skin allergies, call Texas Multi-Specialty Group or book your consultation online today.