If your first in-office appointment is for a Drug Test (Drug Day), Patch Test, or Venom Evaluation, refer to the instructions within that appointment type, rather than those contained within First Appointment (In Office Only, Not Telehealth).
You do not need to discontinue use of your antihistamines for Patch Testing, or Telehealth appointments as no skin prick testing will be conducted.
First Appointment
(In Office Only, Not Telehealth)
What to Expect
On arriving at the office, you can expect to:
Fill out a new patient intake form
Have your vital signs (height, weight, blood pressure, etc.) taken
Speak with the Doctor about your concerns
Undergo testing (such as skin prick testing) if indicated
General Information
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to your appointment to fill out forms.
No long-lasting antihistamines (Allegra, Reactine, Aerius, Claritin, Blextin, Rupall or Atarax) 5 days prior to the appointment. Benadryl or Chlortripolon are fine until the night before your appointment.
Sudafed, nasal sprays, steroid asthma puffer, topical steroids, prednisone and regular allergy injections are fine to be continued.
No perfumes or scented products; no snacks containing nuts.
Please bring your medical card and a list of all your medications.
If your appointment is due to a food allergy, facial swelling, rash or hives, please bring any relevant photographs and notes about the reaction and possible exposures.
For patients seeing Dr. Cook for the first time, and who have not done so previously, ensure your intake form is submitted 5 days prior to your appointment.
Estimated Appointment Length
One to two hours
Follow Up
(In Office Only, Not Telehealth)
What to Expect
On arriving at the office, you can expect to:
Have your vital signs (height, weight, blood pressure, etc.) taken
Speak with the Doctor about specific concerns related to your follow up appointment
Undergo testing (such as skin prick testing) if indicated
General Information
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to your appointment to fill out forms.
If attending for skin prick testing, no long-lasting antihistamines (Allegra, Reactine, Aerius, Claritin, Blextin, Rupall or Atarax) 5 days prior to the appointment. Benadryl or Chlortripolon are fine until the night before your appointment.
Sudafed, nasal sprays, steroid asthma puffer, topical steroids, prednisone and regular allergy injections are fine to be continued.
No perfumes or scented products; no snacks containing nuts.
Please bring your medical card and a list of all your medications.
Estimated Appointment Length
The duration of your appointment is dependent on whether additional follow up testing is required during this appointment, and can last between 30 and 90 minutes.
Drug Day
What to Expect
On arriving at the office, you can expect to:
Fill out a new patient intake form
Have your vital signs (height, weight, blood pressure, etc.) taken
Speak with the Doctor about your concerns
Fill out a consent form
Undergo an oral challenge (most likely), or intradermal testing (if indicated).
Note there is a $30 fee for intradermal testing, as this is not covered by MSP.
General Information
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to your appointment to fill out forms.
No long-lasting antihistamines (Allegra, Reactine, Aerius, Claritin, Blextin, Rupall or Atarax) 5 days prior to the appointment. Benadryl or Chlortripolon are fine until the night before your appointment.
Sudafed, nasal sprays, steroid asthma puffer, topical steroids, prednisone and regular allergy injections are fine to be continued.
No perfumes or scented products; no snacks containing nuts.
Please bring your medical card and a list of all your medications.
Please bring any relevant photographs and notes about the reaction and possible exposures.
For patients seeing Dr. Cook for the first time, and who have not done so previously, ensure your intake form is submitted 5 days prior to your appointment.
ESTIMATED APPOINTMENT LENGTH
You will be in the clinic for 1.5 to 4.5 hours depending on the drug being challenged
Oral Immunotherapy
What to Expect
On arriving at the office, you can expect to:
Have your vital signs (height, weight, blood pressure, etc.) taken
Ingest a small amount of allergenic food
See OIT FAQ here
General Information
Please arrive at least 10 minutes early to have your vital signs taken.
No perfumes or scented products; no snacks containing nuts (unless this is part of your therapy).
- Food to mix in with capsules (ie. apple sauce or yogurt)
- A bowl and spoon
- Items to entertain children while in the office
- Your epinephine autoinjector (such as an EpiPen)
PLEASE ENSURE
If your oral immunotherapy will be conducted using capsules, ensure you bring your capsules with you, or ensure they have been shipped to, and received by this clinic.
ESTIMATED APPOINTMENT LENGTH
Approximately 1.5 hours
Oral Food Challenge
What to Expect
On arriving at the office, you can expect to:
Have your vital signs (height, weight, blood pressure, etc.) taken
Undergo an oral food challenge.
General Information
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to your appointment to fill out forms.
Avoid long-lasting antihistamines (Allegra, Reactine, Aerius, Claritin, Blextin, Rupall or Atarax) 5 days prior to the appointment. Benadryl or Chlortripolon are fine until the night before your appointment.
Sudafed, nasal sprays, steroid asthma puffer, topical steroids, prednisone and regular allergy injections are fine to be continued.
No perfumes or scented products; no snacks containing nuts.
Please bring:
Your medical card and a list of all your medications;
Specific food that is being challenged;
Your epinephrine autoinjector (such as the EpiPen);
Items to entertain children while in the office.
Estimated Appointment Length
Approximately 3 to 4 hours.
Patch Testing
What to expect
The patch test is completed over two separate appointments (Day A and Day B) in a one-week time frame:
1. During your initial appointment (Day A) you will have the patches applied to your back by a trained staff member from Dr. Cook’s team. Detailed instructions will be discussed on after care and next steps. Patches will be placed on your back and should remain in place for 48 hours.
Important Information for Day A:
We encourage showering before the appointment as you are instructed not to shower for 48 hours after application.
Please ensure your back is hair-free for effective application and keeping your appointment on time. If not completed, our staff will have to do this for you.
For those individuals who wear a brassiere, please avoid wearing a sports bra to the appointment, regular brassieres with minimal straps are ideal for application of the patches.
Please wear loose clothing.
Antihistamines and nasal sprays can be taken, as they do not impact patch testing results. Please notify the patch technician if you have recently received oral steroids (such as prednisone) or if you are using topical steroids at the site of patch application.
The appointment will take between 15 and 30 minutes.
2. You will return for your second appointment (Day B, 4-5 days after application at initial appointment) and have the patch test results read by Dr. Cook. Please bring relevant photos of any rashes and progression of back patch test area for this appointment.
The appointment will take between 30 and 45 minutes.
3. We require you to confirm you can attend both of the appointments. Confirmation must be done one week prior to the initial appointment or we may cancel and place you on a waitlist for future patch test clinics. This is so that the material does not go to waste.
General Information
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early at your appointment to fill out forms.
No perfumes or scented products; no snacks containing nuts.
Please bring your medical card and a list of all your medications.
Please bring any relevant photographs and notes about the reaction and possible exposures.
You can continue to take long-lasting antihistamines (Allegra, Reactine, Aerius, Claritin, Blextin, Rupall or Atarax) as well as Benadryl or Chlor-Tripolon.
Sudafed, nasal sprays, steroid asthma puffer, topical steroids, prednisone and regular allergy injections are fine to be continued.
For patients seeing Dr. Cook for the first time, and who have not done so previously, ensure your intake form is submitted 5 days prior to your appointment.
Phone Follow Up
General Information
You will be contacted by the Doctor by phone within 30 minutes of your scheduled appointment time.
Estimated Appointment Length
Approximately 15 to 30 minutes
Subcutaneous Immunotherapy
WHAT TO EXPECT
On arriving at the office, you can expect to:
Have your vital signs ( blood pressure, heart rate, etc.) taken
Receive an injection with your immunotherapy serum
GENERAL INFORMATION
No perfumes or scented products; no snacks containing nuts.
Please arrive 5 minutes early to your appointment
Estimated Appointment Length
The appointment will take 10-15 minutes, with a subsequent 30 minute wait to ensure there are no adverse reactions.
Approximately 45 minutes total.
Sublingual Immunotherapy
WHAT TO EXPECT
On arriving at the office, you can expect to:
Fill out a new patient intake form if not already completed
Have your vital signs (height, weight, blood pressure, etc.) taken
Take the first tablet of your sublingual (under tongue) immunotherapy medication
GENERAL INFORMATION
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to your appointment to fill out forms.
No perfumes or scented products; no snacks containing nuts.
Estimated Appointment Length
New Patients
Approximately 1 hours, plus an additional 30 minutes to ensure there are no adverse reactions. 1.5 hours total
Follow-Up Patients
Approximately 15 minutes, plus an additional 30 minutes to ensure there are no adverse reactions. 45 minutes total.
Telehealth
(New or Follow-Up)
What to expect
Your telehealth appointment will be conducted over a secure telemedicine platform (DoxyMe) that enables Healthcare Providers to conduct online patient appointments through a secure video and messaging portal. Certain new patient and follow-up consultations can be completed using this service. Telehealth appointments can be conducted via a computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Any testing (ie. skin prick testing) that is needed will be conducted during an in-person follow up appointment at the clinic.
Software / Hardware Requirements
A computer, tablet, or phone with a microphone and video camera
Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari as a web browser
General Requirements
For patients seeing Dr. Cook for the first time, and who have not done so previously, ensure your intake form is submitted 5 days prior to your appointment.
Pediatric patients must be in attendance for the appointment, but not necessarily for the entire time
Ensure you are in a distraction free location (ie. not driving, at the beach, picking up kids from school) with good wi-fi or internet
Please login to DoxyMe at least 10 minutes before your appointment start time
Test your audio and video functionality
If technical difficulties are encountered, we will reach out to you via phone.
As this is a telehealth appointment, and skin prick testing will not be conducted, you can continue to take long-lasting antihistamines (Allegra, Reactine, Aerius, Claritin, Blextin, Rupall or Atarax) as well as Benadryl or Chlor-Tripolon.
Sudafed, nasal sprays, steroid asthma puffer, topical steroids, prednisone and regular allergy injections are fine to be continued.
Estimated Appointment Length
Approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour
Venom Evaluation
WHAT TO EXPECT
On arriving at the office, you can expect to:
Fill out a new patient intake form
Have your vital signs (height, weight, blood pressure, etc.) taken
Speak with the Doctor about your history of reactions to insect stings
GENERAL INFORMATION
For patients seeing Dr. Cook, ensure your intake form is submitted 5 days prior to your appointment.
No long-lasting antihistamines (Allegra, Reactine, Aerius, Claritin, Blextin, Rupall or Atarax) 5 days prior to the appointment. Benadryl or Chlortripolon are fine until the night before your appointment.
Sudafed, nasal sprays, steroid asthma puffer, topical steroids, prednisone and regular allergy injections are fine to be continued.
No perfumes or scented products; no snacks containing nuts.
Please bring your medical card and a list of all your medications.
Please bring pictures of insect stings and reactions to insect stings.
Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to your appointment.
Estimated Appointment Length
Approximately 30 minutes.