Seasonal Allergies

Seasonal allergies present with itchy, watery eyes, itchy throat, sniffles– and tend to follow a seasonal pattern. Despite all the commercials out there, the best treatment for the symptoms mentioned above, is actually a nasal steroid which you spray directly into the nasal cavity!

Many environmental allergies come seasonally and do not require specific allergy testing to diagnose. 

Local treatment once daily as prescribed with a nasal steroid is actually better for most people than the over the counter oral allergy pills.

If, after a few weeks, you still do not have good control over your symptoms, consider adding an oral allergy medication to the regimen. 

Who: adults and older children
What: nasal steroid treatment will act locally in the connecting ear/nose/throat/sinuses to reduce inflammation caused by seasonal allergies. For some patients, relief happens after a few hours, for most, after a few days. Take this medication as long as your doctor has suggested. I like this treatment rather than daily allergy pills, because most of the symptoms of seasonal allergies are focused in the ear, nose and throat area anyways.

How: aim the nasal spray into each nostril, aiming toward your ear (away from your nasal septum). The picture below helps you with why you don\’t want to point the spray upwards towards the ceiling.

http://www.ENTHealth.org/its-all-connected-lateral

Cautious Tips:
👉 These steroid nasal sprays are NOT the same as over the counter decongestant nasal sprays. Those are for short term use only (max 3 days) as longer use will cause \”rebound\” nasal congestion- often worse than what you started with!
👉 Don\’t share nasal spray- this is meant for your nostrils alone
👉 Aim wide (avoid aiming at the middle of your nose (called your septum) as this can cause irritation and lead to nose bleeds.)
👉 Super congested to start? I suggest irrigating the nostrils with a saline rinse or spray to loosen congestion, blow your nose to clear things out, BEFORE using your nasal steroid to increase the amount of medication delivered to the right areas of your nose.
👉 No relief after a few weeks of using as directed? Time to call your family practitioner and consider other diagnoses/treatments or a referral to a specialist.