What we do
Our vision
We’re here to help you find solutions for a better life. We aim to give you more understanding and control over your allergies at every step of the journey, and recognise that as you grow and change your allergies are likely to as well! We understand how important it is to regularly review your health, so we can provide ongoing support as you learn how to live better.
Conditions we treat
- Allergic conditions – food allergies, hay fever, dust, pet and other aeroallergies, eczema, urticaria (hives), anaphylaxis, venom and drug allergies.
- Autoimmune & immunodeficiency conditions – recurrent infections, immunodeficiency, systemic autoimmune diseases, and autoinflammatory conditions.
Our approach
We find our patients benefit from a detailed assessment. For most people, this involves a questionnaire in advance of the appointment followed by a 30-minute consultation with one of our doctors. We also incorporate any notes or test results you and your regular doctor send through in advance of the appointment. We know that’s a lot of information to provide, but we also know that allergies are often complex and interwoven throughout your life, and would rather take the time to get you the help you need.
During the initial consultation, we will work with you to determine if allergy testing is needed, and if so, what form of testing is best for your particular situation. When needed, skin prick testing is planned as part of a second appointment; these appointments typically run for up to an hour, including testing with one of our skilled allergy nurses followed by a consultation with the doctor to interpret and explain the test results, make plans and prescribe treatment. Follow-up consultations with our doctors are usually 20-30 minutes long.
Allergic conditions
At the end of the day, this is how we make a difference in your life. It’s important for us to know a lot about medicine, and we’ve spent thousands of hours learning it. But we haven’t yet learned anything about you, and we know you’re the expert!
We’ll have a lot of questions for you when you book in. We want to know when you’re sick and when you’re well, what makes you feel better and what else you’ve tried! We want to know how your family’s going, how work or school are treating you, and what you’re dreaming about for your next holiday. We want to know your pets, your plans, and your hobbies! Because just knowing the science isn’t enough to make it useful to you.
Allergy testing can take many forms, from skin prick testing using purified protein derivatives to fresh, or ‘prick to prick’, testing to intradermal or serum testing. Some people often benefit from related tests, like scans of their sinuses (for the sneezy, coughy, headachy problems) to looking at how well their gut is working (for the foodie types). We use our knowledge of medicine along with your personal experience to tailor our approach. If you will benefit from testing, we’ll be able to facilitate it for you.
There’s an important caveat here, and we’d like to clarify it early. We take pride in practising evidence-based medicine, and we know that people may have sought many avenues to better understand their allergies. It has been so difficult to access quality allergy care that lots of people have been fooled by testing which doesn’t have a scientific basis, including Vega testing, ‘live blood analysis’, and internet-based IgG or immunoglobulin panels. That doesn’t mean we won’t see people who’ve had those kinds of tests done. We know how frustrating these problems can be, and how desperately people look for answers – we’re here to help.
Knowing is half the battle – the other half is application. We’ll work with you to figure out what support you need, whether that’s as ‘simple’ as avoiding your triggers or as complex as a plan for immunotherapy to change your immune system’s mind about how to interact with the world around you. Most people with allergies or allergy-related problems have lots of options for how best to manage their impact on day to day living, and we’re excited to explore those options with you!
Autoimmune and immunodeficiency conditions
Our Specialist Physicians in Immunology and Allergy, Dr Timothy West and Dr Aimee Huynh, are skilled at the assessment and diagnosis of those who have recurrent infections, and those with symptoms suggesting systemic autoimmune disease. Dr Huynh is an expert in these conditions in children from birth to age 18 years, and Dr West has expertise in those aged 16 years and older.
Our approach is first to talk to you at length about your background, life situation and medical background. We’ll then ask in detail about your symptoms and how they affect your sleep, work, study, hobbies and relationships. We’ll then look through all of the investigations and procedures you have had up until now – and we’d love you to send these through in advance so we can get a full picture! We will then perform a thorough examination before reaching a tentative set of early conclusions about what may be going on, and consider if any early treatment can be started to help you or relieve your symptoms.
From there, in most cases we will recommend additional tests, often including blood tests and scans, and we may recommend getting the opinion of other specialists if needed. Once all of this information is gathered, we’ll meet you again to put everything together. In most cases, it takes at least two appointments to reach firm conclusions, and sometimes more than this.
As Immunologists, one of our most important jobs is to determine if you have a problem of the immune system at all. Many people these days are worried about their immune system – they feel lethargic, or run down, or catch coughs and colds more than they would like. Only a small number of these people actually have an immune problem, so in some cases our role is to thoroughly check for an immune problem, then when tests are normal, to reassure people that their immune system is healthy – at least to the extent that current science can determine. We believe firmly in an evidence-based, rigorous and scientific approach to medicine and bring this approach to all of our patient consultations.
There are a range of specific immune problems that Dr West and Dr Huynh can manage and treat long-term, involving other doctors where required.
Dr Timothy West is proficient in the diagnosis and management of the following conditions:
- Allergic conditions including allergic rhinitis, asthma, complex food allergy, insect/venom allergy (e.g. allergy to bee or wasp stings), drug allergy, hives (urticaria) and swelling (angioedema) syndromes.
- A range of autoimmune and allergic skin conditions including severe eczema, blistering skin diseases including pemphigoid and pemphigus, urticaria and urticarial vasculitis.
- Mast cell disorders such as systemic mastocytosis and idiopathic anaphylaxis, using an evidence-based approach in-line with current guidelines.
- Systemic autoimmune conditions including systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren syndrome, various forms of systemic vasculitis, scleroderma, myositis, IgG4 disease and sarcoidosis.
- Autoinflammatory conditions and periodic fever syndromes such as familial Mediterranean fever.
- Autoimmune eye, ear and brain syndromes, as part of a team with other specialists such as ophthalmologists, ENT surgeons and neurologists.
- Eosinophilic conditions such as hypereosinophilic syndrome and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA; formerly Churg-Strauss Syndrome).
- Those with a predisposition to infections (immunodeficiency syndromes) including common variable immune disease, chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis and other rare inborn errors of immunity.
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), including optimal, wholistic care of both infective and non-infective consequences of HIV.
- The care of young adults with inborn errors of immunity who have transitioned from paediatric care.
Dr Aimee Huynh is proficient in the diagnosis and management of the following conditions:
- Allergic diseases (food allergy including FPIES, venom and drug allergy, eczema, anaphylaxis, allergic rhinitis including immunotherapy)
- Urticaria and angioedema (including hereditary angioedema)
- Mast cell disorders such as systemic mastocytosis and idiopathic anaphylaxis, using an evidence-based approach in-line with current guidelines
- Eosinophilic conditions such as eosinophilic oesophagitis (Dr Huynh does shared care with paediatric gastroenterologists)
- Recurrent infections, autoimmune conditions, autoinflammatory conditions including periodic fever syndromes, and inborn errors of immunity/immunodeficiency
