It’s fall -- which means the air is crisp, the leaves with fall, and autumn allergies may be acting up. Are your eyes itchy? Your nose runny? Ragweed and mold spores may be the culprits.
People with allergies might experience things like a stuffy nose, drippy nose, sneezing, itching, and redness of the eyes. Allergist-immunologist Matthew Rank said allergens floating in the fall air can also trigger asthma symptoms.
Rank said there are ways to gain control. He said to first try saline nasal sprays or rinses, over-the-counter non-sedating antihistamines, and nasal spray medications.
“Each of those medicines works a little bit different as far as how fast they work and how well they work and some of them, particularly the nasal steroid sprays, it’s a really good idea to think about two to four weeks ahead of when your allergy season typically is getting started,” Rank said.
If your symptoms can’t be controlled with any of those methods, it might be time to see an allergy specialist. That specialist can work on other treatment options to help desensitize you to the allergens or find what’s causing the problem.
“People that lose their sense of smell this can happen from someone who has severe environmental allergy, but that could be a sign that something else is going on,” Rank said.
Rank said the National Allergy Bureau website can also help. The NAB provides pollen and mold levels so people can get an idea of what’s in the air currently.