Springtime looks a little different in the US and others as well. The allergy is an immune system response to an exotic substance that’s not normally pernicious to your body, these exotic substances are called allergy and when it happens in seasonal time then its called seasonal allergy.
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, more than 50 million people carry allergies every year. Allergies can be caused by seasonal allergies or year-round allergies. As coronavirus still presents in the world, it’s very crucial to understand the difference between coronavirus, allergies, and even the flu. This article will help you to know everything about seasonal allergies including the difference between coronavirus, allergies, and even flu, symptoms of seasonal allergies, and its treatment.
Allergies, coronavirus, cold or flu
Sometimes it can be hard to decode whether symptoms from allergies or an infection. There are a little ways to identify whether you are diseased from a cold, flu, coronavirus, or just a bad effect of seasonal allergies.
As the flu, Common cold, and COVID-19 are upper-respiratory infections, nasal congestion and coughing are their common symptoms. But the difference is symptoms like sneezing and itchy eyes don’t appear for Coronavirus as in allergies.
“The fundamental difference among allergies,COVID-19, common cold and flu is that allergies will never cause a fever, like others,” Dr. Jonson said.
Another intimation is that symptoms may be shown by allergies that are long-lasting of them. While the symptoms stay weeks or months then it can be identified as allergies. On the other hand, Common cold, and flu normally present symptoms for around 2 weeks.
Though symptoms like congestion, coughing, and sneezing are overlapping them, but they present differently and live for different lengths of time.
Seasonal Allergies Vs. Year-Round Allergies
In the easiest term, allergy season ideally starts while the trees initiate to start budding, as seasonal allergies are occurred by pollen produced by weeds, trees, and grass. In other words, seasonal allergies are those that changing throughout the year depends on the change in weather. Warm weather can cause symptoms of allergies by pollination. Whole-time of the year people begin to feel the affection of seasonal allergies based on what they are allergic to.
“Trees, grasses, and weeds are the seasonal allergens. Tree pollination happens in spring, weeds pollination in late summer or early fall and grass pollination occurs in summer.” States Dr. Jonson.
On the other hand, year-round allergies don’t give up with the change in weather. In year-round allergens include dust, pets, mites, mold, etc.
Symptoms of seasonal allergy
The following symptoms are shown when will you affect by seasonal allergy:
- Nasal congestion
- Sneezing
- Runny nose
- Itchy eyes
- Coughing
The fact is respiratory viruses come on very quickly, causing you to feel sick over the course within one day. Thus, seasonal allergies develop over time, and it will hit you like a ton of stone, but allergies are a little more gradual. Explain Dr. Jonson.
Moreover, allergens can also increase the symptoms of asthma including increased coughing, and make breathing difficult. Most of the time, somebody with seasonal allergies is diseased by more than one plant and will feel the experience of allergy in total multiple seasons.
Based on what allergens attack you, symptoms can start from early spring to continue through October.
Seasonal Allergies Treatment
It’s not always possible to completely free from your allergies, but there are some ways to manage your seasonal allergy symptoms. They are the following:
Environmental changes
Environmental changes are ways to relieve the symptoms of seasonal allergies without treatment or medication. Putting your shoes outside of the house, closing your windows while it is allergy season, wearing a mask when you go outside, and refraining from hanging laundry to dry with air outside are all ways that will help you to get rid of getting allergies.
“ To keep up the air dry and minimize the appearance of dust mites, decrease the humidity of your home using a dehumidifier,” Dr. Jonson said. Besides, he couldn’t recommend remaining indoors when allergens are prevalent.
Medication
All over the world allergy medicine is common and useful treatments for seasonal allergies including antihistamines, decongestants, nasal spray, and eye drops. Antihistamines help to abate sneezing and runny nose, for controlling nasal congestion, many nasal steroid sprays can be bought over the year. On the other hand, using eye drops symptoms like itchy eyes can be minimized. There are many various types of nasal sprays and eye drops you should consider for seasonal allergies after talking to your doctor:
- Nasal saline rinses
- Corticosteroids
- Antihistamine nasal sprays
Like nasal sprays, there is a number of options for eye drops, Including:
- Antihistamine eye drops
- Mast cell stabilizers
- Non- steroidal anti-inflammatory eye drops
- Combination eye drops where can include two of these medications.
Besides, If you look at your clear stuffy nose with allergies, you should try decongestant.
If patients feel that these medications are ineffective for controlling their allergy symptoms, they are highly recommended to take a prescription from their personal doctor or hospital to treat seasonal allergies. Besides, it is also recommended to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is another method to medicate allergy symptoms. By applying this process, the immune system can be desensitized to allergens that pull up the allergy symptoms. Immunotherapy can be accomplished through shots or sublingual immunotherapy. That’s why it’s also called allergy shots.
Immunotherapy is a long- term promising method where you will ideally take in shots around three to five years. Nevertheless, this process can be very efficient to treat seasonal allergy symptoms when they work up.
In addition, sublingual immunotherapy is approved by the FDA( Food & Drug Administration of the USA), in this process the tongue- tablet which can be taken at home.
At last, if you don’t feel better after taking medicine or home remedies and seasonal allergy symptoms are intensely harming your everyday life, immunotherapy may be worth it. Go to your doctor and take suggestions from him/her whether immunotherapy is right for you.
