January, February, March and April Showers bring May flowers...and POLLEN!

The wet spring has made spring allergy season more robust than usual...with higher than average pollen emissions.  For those of you who watch me on the news, you know that I am always talking about the wonderful climatology article that predicts up to 40 day longer allergy seasons, 200% higher pollen emissions and 250% higher bursts of pollen emissions by the end of the century (Zhang Y, Steiner AL. Projected climate-driven changes in pollen emission season length and magnitude over the continental United States. Nat Commun. 2022 Mar 15;13(1):1234. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-28764-0. PMID: 35292649; PMCID: PMC8924258).

For those of you who are cowering in fear over the tsunami of pollen in the air as you try to curb your isolation boredom with yet another walk outside, there is hope…

Symptom reduction in allergy has three basic steps…avoidance (or reducing exposure), treatment with medications, and allergy shots.

Reduce your exposure

• Close the doors and windows and let the air conditioning unit do the work
• Set your fan on low or off so the air conditioning unit will filter more air
• Stay inside when it is windy or you are very symptomatic
• Know what your pollens (we can help with this) are so you can follow levels on pollen.com
• Avoid hanging laundry outside
• After you’ve been outside, rinse in the shower, change to fresh clothes
• When you are in your house, take your shoes off to prevent tracking pollen inside
• Wear a mask (and now no one will look at you funny)
• Minimize yard work that triggers you, like lawn mowing and gardening
• Change your air filters every month
• Maintain your air conditioning unit and forced air heating unit
• Use a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter air purifier in your bedroom
• Rinse your target allergy organs with sterile-buffered saline (a Neti pot for your sinuses and nose; saline for eyes for your eyes)

Treat your allergies

• Use an antihistamine (examples include fexofenadine or Allegra; cetirizine or Zyrtec; and loratadine or Claritin)
• Consider a decongestant for nasal stuffiness (pseudophedrine or Sudafed)
• Try a nasal spray (Cromolyn sodium, fluticasone, budesonide are some examples)
• Double up (some medications have both an antihistamine and a decongestant, like Zyrtec-D or Allegra-D

Try Allergy Shots if

• Medication just doesn’t work anymore or doesn’t work well
• You don’t like the idea of using a lot of medication
• Medication gives you side effects
• You have a condition in which allergy medication is contraindicated

Call today to make an appointment to address your allergy needs…You can live with allergies!

Relieve Allergy Asthma & Hives is located near Kierland Commons, Scottsdale Quarter, DC Ranch and Grayhawk at 21803 N. Scottsdale Road Ste. 200, on the corners of Deer Valley and Scottsdale Roads, and has convenient evening and early morning hours to accommodate your schedule.

Dr. Wendt is also available for telemedicine appointments in the safety and comfort of your home. Insurance plans accepted. Call 480-500-1902 today to schedule an appointment and begin your allergy testing and treatment with Dr. Wendt or Mary Jo at Relieve Allergy, Asthma & Hives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Learn more about Dr. Wendt or Mary Jo Colorafi, FNP and Relieve Allergy Asthma & Hives at www.relieveallergyaz.com and FOLLOW US on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Linked In.