JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. -- –
May is recognized as allergy and asthma awareness month by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and is an opportune time to inform the Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, community about allergy and asthma symptoms.
There are two allergy and immunization clinics for JBLE, one located at Fort Eustis and the other at Langley Air Force Base. Although both clinics provide services to military members, their dependents and all TRICARE beneficiaries, some services the clinics offer, differ.
The Langley clinic provides asthma and venom testing, along with skin testing and immunotherapy, according to U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Lucretia Cunningham, an allergy and immunization technician with the 633rd Medical Operations Squadron.
"We will have patients come in with allergy concerns to certain drugs or foods, so the allergist will have them eat the food or take the drug in question, and then wait for the symptoms to appear," said Cunningham. "We want to properly identify the patient's allergies and provide the appropriate treatment."
The clinic is located in the hospital with an emergency room that can treat acute allergy symptoms immediately, allowing the Langley clinic to provide tests for situations that could have potentially adverse reactions.
Although the Fort Eustis clinic does not provide food challenges, the clinic does provide allergy skin testing and allergy immunotherapy, which is a controlled three to five year desensitization method for allergens ranging from seasonal allergies to foods, said Cunningham.
With the severity of allergies during peak season, Cunningham urges patients to begin allergy treatments during the off-season.
"When getting tested, the allergist asks patients to be off all allergy medications for five to seven days, and those with severe allergies do not feel comfortable being off their medication during the peak season," said Cunningham. "This is the reason it is good to see an allergist off-season, because patients will not see results immediately once a treatment plan is started, but by the time spring comes back around, they will see the results."
Patients experiencing allergy or asthma symptoms must first make an appointment with their primary care manager, who will then determine if a consult to the allergy clinic is necessary.
"If you have allergies, please take your medications every day," said Cunningham. "Don't just take your medications when you are having symptoms, and not every day. Allergens are hard to avoid. You can't see the allergens, you only see the symptoms that they cause."
To schedule a consultation with a PCM at the Langley Hospital, call 225-7630, and to schedule with McDonald Army Health Center, call 878-7500.