We try to anticipate some questions you might have about our allergy and asthma practice and provide the answers here.

1. What is an Allergist?

An allergist, or allergist-immunologist, is a doctor that is specially trained to manage and treat allergies, asthma, and other immunologic conditions. The process of becoming an allergist requires completion of at least nine years of rigorous training. Following the completion of medical school and graduating with a medical degree, a physician will then go through three years of residency training in either internal medicine (adults) or pediatrics (children) and pass a board certification exam to advance. Once the doctor has completed their residency and passed the exam, they must then complete at least two additional years of fellowship training in adult and pediatric allergy and immunology. At the completion of their fellowship training, the doctor must then take another board certification exam. Both of our doctors are certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology.

Having completed this extensive study and training, our doctors are experts in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of immune system problems such as allergies, asthma, and primary immune deficiencies. Studies have shown that people who are seeing an allergist-immunologist can reduce how often they need to miss work or school due to their illness. They also make fewer visits to the emergency room and are better able to manage their allergies and asthma symptoms on a daily basis.

2. What Should I Expect at my first visit?

Allergy evaluation takes one to two visits. The first visit will include a complete history and physical examination. At that time, we will determine if allergy testing is warranted. If so, you and the doctor will decide whether prick testing will be done today or if you would prefer to schedule that for another time. The doctor may determine that further testing, called intradermal tests, is warranted. Again, we will decide if you will continue or schedule another visit. You can expect each series of testing to take 30-45 minutes, and you will know the results immediately.

If you have a history suggestive of asthma or you have a chronic cough, a breathing test known as spirometry will also be performed. These results will be interpreted on-site by our doctors and made immediately available to you. A letter discussing the doctor’s findings and recommendations will be sent to your referring doctor.

3. How do you handle allergy shots?

During the pandemic, we have continued to provide allergy shots (immunotherapy) to our patients. We continue to put your health and safety above everything else. Therefore, there have been a few changes including individual sign up times and more space to allow for social distancing.  Shots are initially administered once a week, and after 9-12 months  (depending on each patient’s progress) we start to increase the interval between shots to every 2 weeks, then 3 weeks, and eventually 4 weeks. We ask patients to select times to come in for the shots, by either clicking here or by calling the office 630-455-0456.

After each shot, patients are required to remain in our office under observation for 30 minutes.

There is plenty of free parking.

We strive for good communication between you, the doctors, and our staff. We value your comments & feedback. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to call us at 630-455-0456.

We recognize that receiving treatment in the form of allergy shots is a significant investment in your health and well being in terms of both time and money. We are also working hard to protect the health of our wonderful staff as well as you, our patients, and those with whom we all have contact. We are continually sanitizing our office, and providing telehealth care. We are now asking that shot patients select time slots to ensure social distancing.  Please call the office at (630)455-0456 or click here to sign up.  Additionally, we have blue markings on our floor to indicate 6' from the receptionist and seating positions.  Washrooms are located just outside of our office door, allowing for handwashing at arrival and departure.

We continue to monitor WHO and CDC regarding best practices and other recommendations. Please monitor our website and facebook pages for updates. We hope you all are healthy and we hope that together we will get through this safely.

Temporary shot hours:

Mon 9 - 3:30
Tue 9 - 3:30
Wed 10 - 3 (same)
Thu 9 - 3:30
Fri 8 - 1:30 (same)