"Dr. Poole's Top 10 Things Allergy Sufferers can do to Prevent a Miserable Spring"

If you are like me, spring and fall can be tough. The change in the weather coupled with increased outdoor activities make for regular, yet difficult-to-treat, upper respiratory symptoms. I have listed several things that you can do to minimize both the literal and figurative headache of allergy season. As always, consult with a physician about the best approach for you.

1. Be prepared. If you are someone who has allergy symptoms every spring and fall (like me), you know what you're in store for this time of year. Make sure you have the appropriate precautions, medications, and remedies in place before the onset of symptoms. Do not wait until you can't breathe through your nose and have itchy eyes and sneezing and then frantically try to alleviate symptoms. Therapies should ideally be started prior to symptom onset.
2. Have a good doctor who understands your symptoms on your team. This could range from your primary care provider to an allergist (or both) depending on how bad things can get for you.
3. If it “hurts when [you] do this,” don't do it. If you are someone who deals with allergy symptoms every year, you know what things trigger a reaction in you. Avoidance of irritants is key.
4. Control your asthma symptoms. Many allergy sufferers also have issues with asthma. Often times poor control of one can lead to issues with the other.
5. Take care of your general health. Allergy symptoms are clearly not due to infection. However, poorly controlled allergies create an environment for super-imposed viral or bacterial infections. Make sure you are eating well and getting plenty of rest.
6. Decongestants are a band aid and should not be used to control allergy symptoms. Excessive decongestant use can have deleterious effects such as elevated blood pressure or paradoxically worsening congestion.
7. Non-drowsy, over-the-counter antihistamines (such as Claritin, Allegra, and Zyrtec) are great and do a good job controlling symptoms for most people with mild seasonal allergies.
8. The best treatment for moderate-to-severe seasonal allergy symptoms is nasal steroids, which are obtained via a prescription from your doctor. These are not to be confused with antihistamine or decongestant nasal sprays. Stated simply, nasal steroids are awesome. They can be taken alone or in combination with antihistamines.
9. For patients maxed out on antihistamines and nasal steroids, the addition of a leukotriene inhibitor such as singular deserves consideration. Like histamine, leukotriene is an inflammatory mediator that the body releases in response to irritants.
10. If you've done all of the right things, have "tried everything," and still have bad allergy symptoms, it's time to discuss immunotherapy (allergy shots) with your primary care physician or allergist.