LAURINBURG — Scotland Health is excited to announce the addition of allergy testing and advanced allergy treatment to its Laurinburg Ear, Nose, & Throat office located at 1705 Berwick Drive in Laurinburg. The new services, provided by MedAllergy, began on October 14th and are currently being offered weekly on Wednesdays with plans to expand to additional days in the future.
Allergy tests are available to patients 2 years old or older and immunotherapy treatments are available to those 4 year and up. Children and adults can be referred by their primary care provider to Dr. Mark Lavigne who will assess each patient and schedule testing when necessary.
MedAllergy offers an 88 allergen prick test which will be applied to the back or the inside of the arm. Forty-eight of those test for environmental allergies such as grass, trees, weeds, dust, and animals. The remaining 40 test for food allergies.
“Bringing this service to Laurinburg has been a work in progress for nearly three years,” shared Penny Locklear of MedAllergy. “Allergy testing has always been needed and we’ve seen an increase in the desire for allergy testing. Everyone seems very excited that we are here and the staff here at Laurinburg Ear, Nose, and Throat has been wonderful.”
In addition to testing, two forms of Allergen Immunotherapy will be offered to those who qualify – allergy shots and allergy drops. Allergen Immunotherapy helps a patient build up tolerance to an allergen by periodically exposing the patient to small doses of that allergen. Over time, the amount of allergen used is increased until allergy symptoms are eliminated.
Allergy shots have been the common form of immunotherapy for allergies, but allergy drops (or Sublingual Immunotherapy) have increased in popularity over the years. “With the allergy drops, patients do not have to make trips to the doctor’s office and take shots,” Locklear explained. “They simply place the drop under their tongue once a day and they are good to go.”
For information about the allergy testing and Allergen Immunotherapy services available, please call Laurinburg Ear, Nose, and Throat at 910-610-4368.