Fall Allergies

Well, its fall allergy season again and millions of Americans are suffering from some combination of nasal itching, sneezing, stuffiness, cough, fatigue and sinus infections. If someone in your family has any of these problems, then this article is for you.

Many people do not realize how much the misery of allergies can detract from the quality of life, school and work performance. Children, teenagers, and yes, men, often don’t know to ask for help. In addition to megabucks in lost work productivity, over 10 BILLION dollars each year is spent on allergy medication!

I prefer a common-sense, stepwise approach to treatment. First, for many people, a non-prescription antihistamine with or without a combined decongestant is enough. Many of them, however, cause drowsiness and excess drying. Other side effects are also common. Claritin is now a non-prescription once-a-day option and rarely causes problems, but is expensive. Frequent saline nasal spray(Ocean Mist, Salinex) also helps by washing pollen and dust out of the nasal passages.

Next, I like prescription drugs like Zyrtec, Allegra or Clarinex which all also come in combinations with a decongestant (which helps stuffiness more but can cause insomnia and elevate blood pressure). Singulair is another drug helpful for allergies and especially asthma, but is not an antihistamine. Even more effective are the nasal steroid sprays (Flonase, Nasonex, Nasocort, Rhinocort, etc.), which are most effective when used everyday. When a combination of both antihistamine AND nasal steroid spray does not help enough, it is time to consider allergy testing.

Allergy testing is done by either testing a blood sample for allergies or by measuring skin reactions to injected or applied allergic substances. While blood testing is easier, most experts feel skin testing is more sensitive in identifying all the causes. Either way, once these causes are identified, treatment consists of regular doses of purified extract of the cause (pollen, mold, dust mites, etc.) in slowly increasing doses. This allows the body to gradually build resistance to them and prevent the allergic reaction. While tiny, usually painless shots under the skin once weekly is the most common treatment method, drops given under the tongue also work great and are especially helpful in small children and those with needle phobias.

About 90% of people on allergy shots or oral drops get improvement and many patients are much better after only a month or two of treatment. Often this treatment is both more effective and cheaper than daily medication, although most experts recommend maintaining treatment for at least three to five years.

If someone in your family is not getting enough relief from allergies by medication alone, ask your physician about sending them to an Ear, Nose, and Throat or Allergy specialist for testing.

Dr. Chuck Guice