Spring Allergy Symptoms are on the Rise

With the warm spring weather seasonal spring allergy symptoms such as sneezing, itchy eyes, itchy nose, runny nose, coughing, wheezing, and extreme fatigue are on the rise. These miserable allergy symptoms are due to the tree pollens being released this time of the year. Every spring, during the months of April and May trees such as birch, ash, oak, maple and sycamore release millions of pollens that wreck havoc on millions of allergy sufferers causing allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis. These afflicted allergic individuals need to see a board-certified allergy doctor for allergy relief.

What can an Allergy Sufferer do to get Allergy Relief?

If you have disabling allergy symptoms from allergic rhinitis, conjunctivitis or asthma you can take these steps for allergy relief.

· Take your allergy medications daily throughout the allergy season. There are several excellent medications available over the counter for the allergy sufferer. Oral antihistamine tablets such as loratidine and cetirizine can be taken daily to help the sneezing, runny nose and itching. A very good eye drop allergy medication, ketotifen eye drops, is available over the counter which can give relief of allergic conjunctivitis.

· Stay indoors during peak pollen times of the day. Pollens are usually highest in the mornings so it would be advisable to do any outdoor activities in the afternoon or evening. If some outdoor chores need to be done, it would be a good idea to delegate these to non-allergy sufferers.

· Rain washes the air. An excellent time to really enjoy the outdoors is immediately after it rains. Rain is nature’s means of cleansing the air thus take advantage of the outdoors after it rains.

· See a Board-Certified Allergist. An allergist has several years of professional medical training thus can really understand your allergy problems better. Make sure to check that he is board-certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, since some doctors claim to be allergists when they do not have the rigorous training required to become an allergist.

You can visit the ABAI website to find board certified allergists in the area. You can also check Cincinnati Magazine’s list of “2010 Top Doctors in Cincinnati” for allergists recommended by physicians in the community.

Get allergy relief. Stay well, stay healthy.