We are uniquely qualified to treat the “whole person”, and successfully integrate all
aspects of medicine including holistic approach including natural supplements in
 managing health care and treatment.  At Cosmedic Laser Clinic, we are interested
in getting and keeping you healthy and look your best.
 

All the staff in our office work as a team to provide you with quality medical care. 
We are proud of the training and abilities of each of our staff.  We want you to have
 the confidence in them that we do, so we can all work together to meet your family’s
medical needs.

San Francisco, San Jose Bay Area is our home, and most of us will live here our
whole lives. But when it comes to allergies, living in San Francisco Bay Area
makes treatment harder because the true allergy to dust mites, mold or pollen
is superimposed on the non-allergic effects of the pollution, ozone and humidity.
Many patients say they feel great when they travel elsewhere, only to have symptoms
 come roaring back as soon as they return. So, if you're going to live in
San Francisco Bay Area because of your job, or because this is where your
 loved ones are, then successfully treating allergies may require you to be a bit
more aggressive. That means paying equal attention to avoiding dust mites or
mold that you're allergic to, avoiding non-allergic triggers (e.g., cigarette smoke,
 perfume, etc), and seeking medical help.

 

At The Milpitas Medical Allergy Clinic, we separate allergy treatment into three branches:
 avoidance, medication, and immunotherapy (allergy shots). It often takes a
combination of some or all of the three to provide a healthy resolution to your problems.
 See treatment options for more information.

Most treatment focuses on medications – those that treat symptoms, like Allegra and
Zyrtec or those that prevent symptoms, like Flonase and Nasonex. Newer medications
like Allermist, a nasal steroid, and Patanase, a nasal antihistamine or Xyzal, a second-generation version of Zyrtec, aren't much stronger. Even with ideal combinations
of these medications and fine tuning of the dosages, inadequate relief is still inadequate relief. Even worse, most medications only treat symptoms, and those symptoms come right back as soon as you stop taking the medicine. See medications for more information.

Of all treatment options, shots are the only ones that actually treat the underlying allergy,
working toward a cure. In study after study, allergy shots, when taken for three to five years,continue to provide relief for years after treatment. That's certainly not true for pills or sprays. Not even for the newest allergy medications. See immunotherapy or rush immunotherapy for more information.
 

There's an old saying in medicine that goes, "All that wheezes isn't asthma." It reminds
students and physicians that patients can wheeze when they have congestive heart
failure with pulmonary edema, foreign body obstruction (like a peanut M&M in the
bronchus), or dozens of other possibilities. Conversely, not all asthma presents with
 wheezing. Symptoms of asthma can include cough, shortness of breath, tight chest,
 and, of course, wheezing.

Frequently asthma symptoms only occur during certain times of year or in certain
situations, such as with exercise or during infections. The "attack" is not the norm;
most often symptoms progress slowly over time. Asthma can start at any point in life,
 not just in childhood. More and more, we are seeing people in their 60's diagnosed
with asthma for the first time. Many of our newly diagnosed asthma patients express fear.
 They believe they will have to stop participating in their favorite activities, or they will
end up gasping for air and puffing on a "rescue inhaler." Parents often carry images
of their kids sitting inside, not able to go to recess or participate in sports.

ALL OF THESE IMAGES ARE WRONG!

Asthma treatment has come a long way. In fact, during the 2004 Olympics, many of
the athletes had asthma including several medal winners. The goal in asthma
treatment is control. For students, control means a team effort involving the parents,
 the school nurse, and the coach. Medically, control often includes daily
anti-inflammatory medications to prevent symptoms from occurring in the first place.
 

Education for the patient (and their family/school nurse/coach) is key to
teach how to identify and treat symptoms when they first start. With appropriate
 treatment, the vast majority of asthma patients can continue to enjoy any activity
 they choose, without limitations.

Avoidance – One of the easiest remedies, avoidance, or prevention, involves
removing or decreasing exposure to the cause of the symptoms from your life.
For example, a particular food can be avoided, or a pet can be removed from the
 home or kept away from sleeping areas. If one is allergic to dust mites, a common
 allergen in this part of the country, we often recommend pillow and/or mattress
covers that are impermeable to dust mite antigen penetration.

Some causes of symptoms, such as pollen, molds, and dust mites, cannot be totally
 eliminated. Exposure can be reduced, however, by environmental control measures
 prescribed by your allergist. Remember, you don't need 100% avoidance to
improve--just enough to get you feeling better.

Medications– Although avoidance is always the primary recommendation, more
treatment is usually advised. Medications frequently are used to decrease allergy
 symptoms and return patients to full health. Recent advances in medications for
allergies, asthma and other allergic diseases have been phenomenal. Improvements
in drugs have eliminated most of the side effects associated with them just a few
years ago. Your specialist at The Allergy Clinic will be able to suggest the latest safe,
 and most effective, medications for treating your allergic illness. Medications are
generally divided up into two categories--those to prevent your symptoms, and those
 to treat your symptoms. It is reasonable to infer that prevention medications must be
 used regularly to be most effective. Prescription medications can be very expensive;
 however, we will work with you and your insurance company to find the most effective
therapeutic alternatives covered by your plan.

 Immunotherapy (Allergy Shots) – Although medications may reduce or prevent
symptoms, only a regimen of allergy shots can actually alter or fix a patient's allergic
 response. Allergy shots have been used by the medical profession since 1911.
This time-tested therapy decreases a patient's sensitivity by introducing increasingly
 larger doses of the substances to which the patient is allergic. The treatment is a
 method for increasing the allergic patient's natural resistance to the things that are
 triggering the allergic reactions.
 

Think of it this way: The allergic response is an overreaction to a harmless substance. When the allergic patient comes across something to which they are sensitive, the allergic cascade begins, often leading to misery. The non-allergic person will breathe in the same thing and have no adverse response. The goal of allergy shots is to gain this tolerance to harmless
substances which are mistaken for dangerous invaders.