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4 Tips to Get Ready for Your First Appointment with an Allergist

4 Tips to Get Ready for Your First Appointment with an Allergist

If you have decided to come visit Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Medical Group to find the right treatment plan for your allergy or other immune issue then we applaud your great decision. You can always call us at 805-658-9500 if you have questions before your appointment. In the meantime, check out these four simple tips on how you can get ready for your appointment.

    1. Fill out your new patient paperwork

You can use the patient portal to find out all the necessary new patient paperwork. This saves you time in the office. If you are not able to print out the papers or you simply cannot complete the paperwork before visiting our offices, then we recommend coming half an hour before your appointment time so that you’ll have plenty of time to get them filled out completely.

    1. Stop taking antihistamines four days before your appointment

If you are currently taking an antihistamine and you believe you will likely have allergy skin testing then you will need to stop taking them four days before your appointment. Not doing so could result in inaccurate results. This includes allergy drops including Azelastine, Optivar, Cromolyn, Crolom, Emadastine, Emadine, Epinastine, Elestat, Homeopathic Similasan Allergy Eyes, Ketotifen, Zaditor, Alaway, Zyrtec Eye, Lodoxamine, Alomide, Naphcon-A. Opcon-A, Visine-A, Store brand Allergy eye drops, Nedocromil, Alocril, Olopatadine, Patanol, Pataday, Pemirolast, and Alamast.

It also includes allergy nasal sprays such as Azelastine, Astelin, Astepro, Dymista, Cromolyn, Nasalcrom, Olopatadine, Patanase, and any Store Brand Allergy medication. Finally, it also includes allergy / antihistamine pills such as Acrivastine, Semprex-D, Brompheniramine, Carbinoxamine, Palgic, Cetirizine, Zyrtec, Chlorpheniramine, Chlor-Trimeton, Clemastine, Tavist, Cyproheptadine, Periactin, Desloratadine, Clarinex, Diphenhydramine, Benadryl, Fexofenadine, Allegra, Hydroxyzine, Atarax, Vistaril, Levocetirizine, Xyzal, Loratadine, Alavert, Claritin, Unisom, Nyquil, Doxylamine, and any Store Brand Allergy medication.

If you are taking something for your allergies and are not sure if you should stop taking it or not, please contact Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Medical Group at 805-658-9500 to ask.

    1. Make sure you keep taking other medications

If you are taking other medications then you should keep taking them. This includes asthma inhalers and nasal steroid sprays like Flonase and Nasonex. If you are on antibiotics, prednisone, or any other mediation for any medical issue then you should not stop taking them without your doctor’s express instructions.

    1. Call us to find out if we take your insurance plan

At Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Medical Group we are proud to take most insurance plans. That said, we do recommend that you contact us before your appointment to verify that we do accept yours. We accept HMO plans but you will need authorization from your primary care physician to see us. Other insurance we accept includes Seaview IPA, Valley Care IPA, Ventura County Healthcare Plan, Triwest/Tricare/VA, Medi-Cal through Clinicas Del Camino Real and Medicare. We see all PPO plans and payment plans are available if you do not have insurance.