There are so many causes and ways that people with environmental allergies can be exposed, including spring pollen, grasses in the summer, or weeds in the fall. But there are also year-round causes like dust, mold, or animal dander, all of which can lead to unbearably itchy and watery eyes, sneezing, nasal congestion, and runny nose. This diagnosis is known as allergic rhinitis, which you may have heard as hay fever.
Along with the previously mentioned symptoms, there can be dry cough, itchy throat, loss of taste or smell, snoring, frequent sinus infections, or a worsening of existing asthma symptoms.
Causes of Allergies
There are an array of allergens that exist in everyday life, including trees, pollen, mold, dust, cockroaches, and household pets. In patients who suffer from environmental allergies, the body’s natural defense mechanisms treat these allergens much like an infectious agent and begin to attack what they consider invaders. The chemicals your body releases in response, which includes histamine, triggers the allergy symptoms that you begin to experience within several minutes of the allergen exposure. But they can last for hours or even days afterwards.
Treatment for Environmental Allergies
For milder allergies, there are medications that one can purchase over-the-counter at a drugstore or pharmacy. However, for individuals with more severe allergies, a consultation with a doctor is often the best course of action. Our otolaryngologists can devise a detailed allergy report and a treatment plan that is best suited to a patient’s specific condition. The options for care may include changes in the patient’s environment, prescription medications, or allergy desensitization procedures.
Our team of allergy specialists includes Gregory Bonaiuto, MD, Carl Moeller, MD, Timothy O’Brien, MD, and Brook Seeley, MD. To learn more about allergy treatment, please call (860) 493-1950 or visit our patient portal to request an appointment.