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Seasonal Allergies. By Our Student Pharmacist, Aaron Reed.

Allergies 1

Seasonal Allergy Basics

As the end of spring approaches and the summer heat begins to rise in Ohio, plants, trees, and flowers reach full bloom. This increase in plant growth also means drastic increases in the production of pollen. If you are one of the millions of individuals who suffer yearly from seasonal allergies, you have been suffering from what seems to be never ending sneezing, congestion, itchy and watery eyes, and many other bothersome symptoms.

Allergic rhinitis, or what is more commonly referred to as seasonal allergies or hay fever, can turn any day into a miserable one. Before deciding to stay inside for the rest of the summer, try these simple strategies to get your symptoms under control and get you back out the door doing the things you love to do!

Reducing Exposure

One of the best ways to overcome seasonal allergies is to reduce the amount of exposure to things that may trigger your allergy symptoms, also called allergens. Allergy symptoms can flare up when there is a lot of pollen in the air, with the most prevalent time being in the early morning. Avoiding outdoor activities in the early morning can help reduce your exposure to pollen. Local TV, radio, and weather stations forecast the predicted levels of pollen on a daily basis. Checking these levels should always be your first step before heading outdoors.

Other ways to reduce your pollen exposure are to stay indoors on dry, windy days, close doors and windows when pollen counts are high and use air conditioning when possible in your car and home.

If using central air conditioning in your home, make sure that high-efficiency filters are routinely changed to keep the indoor air clean.

Lastly, delegate outdoor tasks such as lawn mowing, weed pulling, and gardening which can severely stir up pollen around you. Thankfully as summer rolls around, so does the increase in summer storms which help to clear pollen from the air giving some symptoms relief after a good rain.

Allergies 2Best Over-the-counter (OTC) Remedies

If allergen avoidance isn’t efficient or not a viable option in your daily routine, there are several types of over-the-counter medications that are available to help ease your seasonal allergy symptoms. Any pharmacist possesses the expertise about these over-the-counter options and can help you find the medication best suited to relieve your symptoms.

Below are the best options to relieve even your worst allergy symptoms:

  • Nasal Corticosteroids – Nasal sprays such as Flonase, Nasacort, or Rhinocort are first-line treatment options to help reduce symptoms of seasonal allergies by reducing the body’s inflammatory response to allergens.
  • Oral antihistamines – the most common treatment for seasonal allergies. Medications such as Claritin, Zyrtec, and Allegra help to relieve the itching, sneezing, and runny nose symptoms. If one of these medications doesn’t work the best for you, try another. These medications are interchangeable and sometimes have different responses in different people.
  • Eye allergy relief – if you experience itchy, watery eyes in addition to your other allergy symptoms, OTC eye drops such as Zatidor or Pataday eye allergy relief are great options to reduce irritation.
  • Decongestants – These medications work to relieve the nasal pressure and congestion that can cause headaches or discomfort in addition to other allergy symptoms. They are commonly called Pseudoephed products. WARNING! Oral decongestants elevate blood pressure and are not appropriate for people with high blood pressure or certain heart conditions.
  • Combination medications – Oftentimes, medications are combined to include oral antihistamines and decongestants in one convenient dose. Products like Claritin-D, Allegra-D or Aleve-D cold and sinus offer these combination products. These are great pharmacist directed options available through the pharmacy to combat many allergy symptoms at once!
  • Non-medicated nasal irrigation – options such as Neti-Pot or other saline irrigation symptoms are great non-medication options to help rinse the sinuses of accumulated pollen and other allergens.

When OTC products are just not enough!

If you still seem to be suffering from seasonal allergies following allergen avoidance or pharmacist directed therapy, don’t give up! It may be time to visit your primary care doctor. If your allergies are bad enough, your physician is able to run skin or blood allergy tests to find out the exact cause of what is producing your symptoms. Identifying this specific allergen can help you develop a plan to avoid it.

For some people, however, even allergy testing and avoidance are not enough. If you think you are one of those people, referral to an allergy specialist can provide access to allergy immunotherapy (allergy shots) that help to reduce your body’s response to your specific trigger over time.

Always remember, relief is just a Happy Druggist away!

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