Allergists can help patients of all ages

COURTESY PHOTO Triangular pollen grains of a live specimen of Calendula cultivar. Ten-year-old Hunter Purks describes his asthma attacks as an elephant sitting on his chest. If he accidentally eats food with peanuts, if he plays football during ragweed season — when one of his allergies triggers his asthma — he begins to feel feverish, then he starts to wheeze.

"We went to an allergist to try and figure out what we could do to make his life easier," says Hunter's mother Robin Crackel. "We went to an allergist to see if we could get his asthma under control."

As an allergist and immunologist, Dr. Gaston Turnier, sees lots of itchy eyes and runny noses. He sees acute hives, he listens to coughs and hears stories of anaphylaxis to bee stings or fire ants. He defines the role of an allergist as identifying the allergy and teaching the patient how to avoid allergy triggers. When triggers cannot be avoided, medication or desensitization through allergy shots may help.

Recent skin tests helped Dr. Turnier investigate young Hunter's allergic reactions. Since starting a treatment of allergy shots and taking the right asthma medication, the boy has been playing more football and coughing less. Now he knows how to avoid dust mite exposure, he knows what trail mix not to eat, and he knows his asthma does not mean he has to sit on the bench.

"Allergies can affect your quality of life," Dr. Turnier says. "Allergies can affect your concentration. You can feel very fatigued as a symptom of an allergy."

Living in Florida, residents experience allergies year-round. Dr. Turnier says not to say, "Oh, it's just allergies. You really need to know. If you treat your allergy early enough, you can prevent further complications."