June is in full swing and as most allergy sufferers know that means itchy eyes, runny noses, clearing the throat & constant sneezing reign supreme for what feels like forever!!!
According to the AAAAI (American Academy of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology), roughly 17.6 million adults have seasonal allergies. Notice I said adults, which means that even more little kids are running around doing the same thing as their parents just a little louder and probably spreading those runny snotty buggers everywhere!! 😂
Now as an Asthma, Allergy & Immunology RN (I’m also an allergy sufferer too) I have learned a few things over the years and I’m willing to share information to help but I want you to keep a couple things in mind as I do.
Every state is a little different in timeline of when allergies bloom and some places have none of something while other places have a ton of something. Example: The whole State of Oregon, which is where I live, does not have Ragweed which blooms pretty much everywhere else in the U.S. It blooms in September right around the time kids head back to school and if any kids have asthma this is the time of year you will see a lot of them in the hospital with uncontrolled asthma due to allergy flares thanks to Ragweed.
So first things first, if you think that you suffer from allergies see an allergist! They can skin test you in office and within 15 minutes (that’s our office time) you know what your allergic to! From here it’s easy peesy to set up a game plan. There are many Over The Counter pills and nasal sprays ( yes, you need this!!) to help you.
What are the pills you ask? Allegra, Zyrtec, Xyzal and yes, Claritin. It’s okay to buy the store brands of these (cheaper, hello!!) but DO NOT buy the “natural remedies”. They don’t work!!!! Nasal sprays that are needed are either Flonase or Nasacort both work really well. Oh and for those horrible itchy eyes Zaditor or Padaday (this one is newly available OTC and amazing!)
So what if you’ve done all this and still suffer? If that’s you and you light up like a Christmas tree in the doctors office it’s time to talk immunotherapy (AKA, shots). This is something I do all day long. They are amazing for people. It seems like a bad idea, inject someone with every allergen they are allergic to help build immunity but it works! People have had wonderful results on these and can be in the middle of a horrible pollen season (like this one!!) and be just fine.
Steeley Grace 