If you or a loved one suffers from allergies, you know the symptoms — runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion, coughing, sleeplessness and even trouble breathing. It can make life miserable.

If you’re ready to minimize — or even eliminate, in some cases — your allergy symptoms, call us at (515) 223-4368 or request an appointment online. One of our physicians will help you correctly identify the allergens that affect you. Then we’ll use advanced techniques to help you overcome your allergies once and for all.

Allergy testing

Skin testing is the most reliable form of identifying allergies. It’s also quick and painless.

During the test, a physician gently scratches the skin with a small comb containing the allergen in question (such as cat dander, mold or pollen). In as little as 15 minutes, the test reveals a result. If positive, the skin will display an itchy, reddish bump in the scratched area.

Using this method, your Iowa ENT Center physician can test for as many as 48 allergens specific to your environment. This allows us to fully understand the cause of your symptoms so we can treat them effectively. We can also help you learn how to change your lifestyle or environment to decrease your exposure to the allergens that bother you most.

Treatment of allergies

Because every patient is different, Iowa ENT Center custom-formulates our allergy medications. This allows us to specifically address your unique symptoms and reactions.

We also offer immunotherapy to desensitize your immune system to identified allergens. Immunotherapy involves incrementally increasing your exposure to an allergen over a period of time, usually several months.

Over time, the immune system becomes desensitized to the allergen, reducing the frequency and severity of your allergic reaction. While the duration of the therapy differs for every individual (ranging from a few months to a few years), the success rate of immunotherapy is very high: up to 85% of immunotherapy patients have reported that their allergy symptoms are either eliminated or significantly reduced.

Help for adults and children

Iowa ENT Center provides allergy treatment not only for adults but also for children age two and older. To learn more, read about one family's experience with our immunotherapy treatment for their six-year-old son.

Typically covered by insurance

Most insurance plans cover allergy testing, medications and immunotherapy. When assessing the cost of treatment, the best question to ask might be, “How much does it cost to NOT treat allergy symptoms?” When considering days off work and lost productivity, as well as the price of drugs that do little more than mask symptoms, it can cost the average allergy sufferer up to $2,000 per year to simply manage symptoms.

Iowa ENT Center can help you reduce or even eliminate your symptoms altogether, so you can stop wasting money on medications that don’t work — and start experiencing the lasting relief you deserve.

Schedule an appointment

Allergy testing and immunotherapy are available at both our West Des Moines and Ankeny locations. To schedule an appointment, call (515) 223-4368 or request an appointment below.