For some, allergies come around each year like clockwork. Endless sniffles, itchiness and discomfort, scads of medicine bottles aligned in the cabinet to alleviate symptoms — all tell-tale signs it’s allergy season. PeaceHealth Allergy and Immunology Clinic at Cordata Main works hard to combat these pesky pitfalls. Dr. William Anderson recently sat down with WhatcomTalk to shine a light on immunology and allergy diagnosis and treatment, showcasing the allergy clinic as a true powerhouse in the medical community.

“We evaluate patients aged six months or even younger up to any age for patients who have allergic concerns or symptoms,” says Dr. Anderson. “Some people will self-refer who have pretty clear-cut allergies and would like some information on how to best manage these allergies or confirm their suspicions about having an allergy.” Most often, these patients present with symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, a stuffed-up nose, or other chronic indicators telling them it’s time to visit a specialist.
When patients come to the clinic for more information, the specialists make it a priority to educate them on diagnosis and treatment of their conditions. “We can do allergy testing; we can do scratch skin tests where we prick the skin and wait 15 minutes for an allergic reaction like a hive or welt that comes up on the skin,” Dr. Anderson says. “We test for things like the aeroallergens, dust mites, cat/dog dander, tree pollen, grass and weed pollens, as well as mold spores. Those are the most common aeroallergens.”
The testing process is quite thorough, and allergies are sometimes investigated through more than one avenue. “In some cases, if someone has a negative skin test result, we’ll do a more sensitive test where we inject a tiny drop into the skin that we call an intradermal skin test,” says Dr. Anderson. “This may elicit a positive skin test that we might not have picked up on with the scratch test.”
Further examination of different allergic responses can be explored through blood testing. “Blood testing is for detecting the presence of immunoglobulin E or IgE for short,” Dr. Anderson says. “It’s one of the four main antibodies your immune system produces, and the one associated with allergies. About half the population has IgE to some aeroallergen, whether it’s dust mites or pollen, but not everybody with IgE necessarily has an allergy.”
The process of identifying allergies for any individual can be arduous, but the answers lie in an individual’s specific characteristics and environment. It’s important to invest your time seeking answers from specialists. “Let’s say a primary care doctor does a blood test and elevated IgE levels come back, some to food and some to aeroallergens,” Dr. Anderson says. “We are best able to help that patient understand what those tests mean because you can have a positive test and not be allergic. We have the knowledge, experience, and expertise to sort out those questions.”
When a patient presents with chronic infections, immunology and allergy specialists step in. “Part of our specialty is immunology,” says Dr. Anderson. “We see patients with immune dysregulation and disfunction generally in the context of recurrent infection. They have some defect in their ability to mount an immune response to bacteria, most commonly, but sometimes viruses as well.”
Specialists at the clinic also work closely with ear, nose, and throat doctors (ENTs) as well as pulmonologists to determine the best course of action for their shared patients.
Some of the most common allergies patients suffer from originate from grass and tree pollen in the area, an inescapable circumstance. “The most common allergy will be seasonal allergy, the medical term is seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, which often involves the eyes, better known as ‘hay fever,’” Dr. Anderson says. Tree pollens peak in March and are low in early May, but grass pollens will start to show on pollen counters in mid-May and then peak in early June when the cotton fluffs appear from the cottonwood trees and persist through June to mid-July.
Sometimes the best offense is a good defense, especially when it comes to mitigating allergy symptoms.
“It’s really helpful to know what exactly is causing allergy symptoms because it’s best to start medications about two weeks before pollen start to show,” says Dr. Anderson. “Our grass pollen patients should start their medication on May 1 of every year. That can help prevent or significantly reduce the severity of your symptoms.” Still, not all therapies are created equal. “Antihistamine therapy alone is fine if one has mild allergy; once you pass that mild stage into moderate or more severe, to gain control we rely on intranasal anti-inflammatory sprays.”
No matter what your concerns or questions are as a patient, the allergy clinic has a specialist who can provide answers. It’s important to treat allergies, as they can negatively affect everyday life on a significant scale. “A lot of people don’t realize how simple it is to see an allergist,” Dr. Anderson says. “It’s not uncommon to hear a patient say they wished they’d come here years ago.”
Make an appointment with PeaceHealth Allergy and Immunology Clinic or ask your doctor about a referral and start your journey toward relief. Visit PeaceHealth Allergy Clinic for more information.
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