Sunshine Sentinel

• People who have spring allergies might start feeling their symptoms kicking in, as trees have begun to pollinate.
• Symptoms can include sneezing, itchy eyes, coughing, congestion and fatigue.
• People who need to undergo allergy testing or treatment have several options.

According to Dr. Matthew Blair of Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers, people who are suffering from allergies have several treatment options, depending on what works best for them.

Blair said that for people who face a range of allergies, immunotherapy may be the best option.

“Depending on which dilution you're at, it's quite complicated,” Blair told the Sunshine Sentinel. “There is sublingual allergy treatment now for certain allergens out there, where all you need to do is start taking a sublingual -- it’s a tablet, a little piece of paper, a dissolvable piece of paper -- that will absorb into your blood system, instead of getting an injection."

According to Yale Medicine, some 50 million Americans suffer from allergies and their symptoms, and there are usually two options for testing. One is a skin-prick test, which includes the injection of a small amount of allergens under the skin, which will become irritated if the patient has an allergy, and results are available in a day or two. The second option is a blood test, which takes longer to produce results but allows doctors to test for more allergens than the skin test.

Blanchard Valley Health System said that people suffering from spring allergies could start to feel the impact in February or March, as trees begin to form pollen. As pollen is spread by winds, it can irritate the skin, eyes, nose and mouth, engaging the allergy symptoms. The type of pollen differs from tree to tree, but allergists can determine whether pollen is from an oak, birch, walnut or any other tree and come up with individualized treatments.

Mayo Clinic recommends that people who suffer from seasonal allergies should stay indoors on dry, windy days to avoid contact with pollen. They can track pollen counts, and when they come inside, thy can shower to wash pollen from their skin.

Mayo Clinic suggests that patients suffering with allergies use over-the-counter treatments -- such as oral decongestants, antihistamines and nasal sprays -- for relief from the symptoms. If issues persist, you can pursue one of the treatment options at Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers.

To learn more about the symptoms of sinusitis and allergies, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.