FAQ

In NSW and the ACT, allergy problems affect more than one in three people. Children are particularly at risk, along with people with asthma and eczema. Most people with allergies are allergic to more than one trigger, such as dust, pollens, pets or foods. If you’d like to find out more about whether you have allergies, or how to reduce their impact on your life, get in touch with us today!

At Canberra Allergy, we use the gold standard tests recommended by Australia’s peak body for allergy medicine to identify exactly which allergens are causing you trouble. This is coupled with a detailed history and comprehensive examination by our team of GP Allergists and Specialist Physicians, assisted by specially trained nurses. A detailed assessment including appropriate allergy testing usually requires two appointments, but some patients require only a single consult to give them clarity, peace of mind and a plan to manage their allergies.

Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions.

Mast cells, a part of your body’s immune system, grow underneath the lining of the nose, eyes, skin, stomach and bowel. They are activated by different triggers in different people, which can change through a person’s lifetime. When activated, they release a range of chemicals including histamine, which can cause skin symptoms including swelling, redness and itching or other symptoms like wheezing, runny nose or watery eyes, depending on the site of exposure.

It can be tough! Because mast cells are found in many different places and we all experience symptoms differently, allergies can manifest in a wide variety of different ways. Itchy or watery eyes, an itchy rash, cough or wheeze, nasal congestion or headaches are often signs of allergy problems. But they can all be caused by something other than an allergy as well, so a thorough history and specialised testing are the best way to know for sure.

There are several options, including skin prick testing, blood testing, patch testing, and endoscopy (where a flexible fibre optic endoscope is used to examine your upper respiratory or gastrointestinal tract). Doctors at Canberra Allergy can offer all of these tests. When we get to know you at our initial appointment, we will make a plan for the best way to test your allergies. Testing must be planned in advance, so any testing required is usually identified at the initial appointment and then performed at a second, subsequent appointment. 

There are some types of testing that we do not directly offer, as they are best undertaken in partnership with a public hospital allergy unit. This includes testing for allergic reactions that have occurred during surgical procedures (perioperative/anaesthetic anaphylaxis), certain medication testing, and intradermal testing for stinging insect reactions. If this testing is required, our doctors will assist with referral to an appropriate centre.

First let’s get this out of the way – skin prick testing involves NO needles!

A specially trained nurse will ask you a series of questions about your allergy symptoms, mark a grid on your arm and press a piece of plastic (that’s been treated with the allergen being tested) to each square. It’s normal to feel a sense of pressure or being touched with something pointy but most people do not describe the test as painful.

About 15 minutes later, the nurse will review your arm, measure any reactions and take you to the doctor to discuss your results.

Skin testing can be performed on people of all ages, including infants.

In short, yes.

Skin prick testing is the procedure used by most allergy specialists; it’s thought to be the safest method for allergy testing. There is always a very small risk of severe allergic reactions or other complications with testing – but because you’re being monitored the risk is much lower than the risk of having such an allergy and not knowing about it!

Canberra Allergy offers excellent equipment and fully trained nurses. You will have a chance to discuss all testing with the team at the time of your consult and nothing will be done without your informed prior consent.

All of the doctors at Canberra Allergy are experts in their particular areas, but they each have different backgrounds and skill sets.

Our GP Allergists have completed at least five years of training after completing medical school, and have then undertaken at least an additional year of postgraduate training in allergic diseases. They have broad expertise in medicine as Specialist General Practitioners and have developed additional expertise in food allergy, aeroallergies such as hay fever, dust, pet and pollen allergies, hives, some allergic skin conditions and penicillin allergy. They are Associate Members of ASCIA, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. They treat patients of all ages, from birth into older age. They also have extended skills in investigating and managing diseases outside this narrow range, including skin diseases (Dr. Tarrant) and a wide range of gastrointestinal conditions (Dr. McCue).

Our Specialist Physicians in Allergy and Immunology have completed at least eight years of training after medical school, including three years of dedicated training in Immunology and Allergy. They have committed their entire medical careers to developing and practicing expert care in allergic and immunologic diseases. Their scope of practice includes food allergy, aeroallergies, severe urticaria, autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases, and immunodeficiency syndromes. Specialist Physicians train in either adult or paediatric medicine; Dr Aimee Huynh is a Paediatric Immunologist and treats patients from birth to age 18 years. Dr Timothy West is an adult-trained Immunologist but has expertise in allergic conditions from birth up, and autoimmune / immunodeficiency conditions from the age of 16 years and up. 

All of our doctors are committed to high quality, collaborative, evidence-based care within their scope of practice.

To see one of our GP Allergists, a referral is not required. However, to give you the best possible care, it is always helpful to receive a referral from your GP and we strongly encourage you to bring one. This will also ensure we can write back to your GP so everyone is kept in the loop.

To see one of our Specialist Allergist / Immunologists, a referral is required. You will be required to submit the referral before making an appointment. All Specialists other than GPs require a referral so that you can claim a Medicare rebate. A referral from a GP will be current for 12 months from your initial appointment with us. A referral from a non-GP Specialist will be current for 3 months from the date of your first appointment. If it has been more than 12 months since your last appointment it is important to ensure you have a current GP referral.

For your first appointment at Canberra Allergy, the best thing you can do is prepare all the information you’d like us to review. This might mean:

• Filling in the pre-appointment survey form on our website.
• Writing down a timeline of the events that you want to discuss with us, so you have a clear idea of what has happened, and when each event occurred.
• Obtaining records from other specialists, radiology reports, blood tests, or from any Emergency Department visits or hospital stays. These can be attached to the referral if your GP has them.
• Finding any photos you want to show us and putting them in an easy-to-find place on your phone.
• If you have had any allergic reactions to food, confirming the exact name of what you ate, and ingredient lists where possible. This might mean contacting restaurants or café to confirm ingredient lists, or taking photos of the packaging of prepared foods.
• Ensuring you have a complete list of all of your medications, including the exact name and dose of each one. Make sure to include any over-the-counter medications such as nasal sprays for hay fever, and moisturisers and creams for eczema, if these are relevant to your health problems.
• If the appointment is for your child, bringing their baby personal health record book.  

For your first appointment, you can keep using all of your usual medications. 

For subsequent appointments, if skin testing is planned, you will be asked to avoid any medications that can interfere with this testing for several days in advance. The main medication class that must be avoided is antihistamines. Nasal sprays, antibiotics and asthma medications should not be stopped; they will not interfere with your test results. Further, please do not place sunscreen or moisturiser on your forearms in the day leading up to testing.

If you or your child are unwell, please notify our reception staff as soon as possible, so that your appointment can be changed. Allergy testing is usually not performed on people when they are unwell.

First appointments will generally run for 30 minutes. For subsequent appointments, expect to be in the practice for between 40 minutes and an hour – this may include skin prick testing, consults with a nurse and doctor, and a nasal examination if required. Some specialised kinds of investigations such as food challenges or endoscopies may involve a much longer stay (or hospital admission) and these will be discussed with you in detail if they are required.

As with any medical appointment, the costs vary depending on the service provider and the rebate you receive. Each of our doctors set their own gap fee, in a range from around $200 to $350 depending on the service.  

If you need a referral to another service, e.g. for imaging, there will naturally be additional costs.

In Australia, private healthcare funds only cover hospital inpatient stays, not outpatient medical consultations. Therefore, as for all outpatient medical appointments in Australia, your private health fund will not cover any costs associated with appointments at Canberra Allergy. However, Medicare does provide you with a benefit, which will cover part of the cost of your care.

In order to provide high quality service, our clinicians dedicate their full focus to you during your allocated appointment. They are unable to facilitate this outside of a scheduled appointment booking. Our practice policy for additional questions/concerns which arise following your consultation is to facilitate another appointment with your doctor at Canberra Allergy. In some situations, a telephone consultation may be arranged. Your GP may also be a valuable source of assistance and can contact our clinic if an urgent appointment is required. We ask anyone having an acute allergic reaction to urgently contact emergency services on 000.