Allergy Relief

Austin and Allergies

Austin ranks high on many of the "best places to live" lists. Unfortunately, it also ranks high on the worst places to live if you suffer from allergies.

People who suffer from allergies can treat their symptoms through proper avoidance, medications, and/or immunotherapy (allergy shots). If you suffer symptoms during the allergy season and are not sure what you may be allergic to, get skin tested. It's fast, easy, and usually done without needles. This will help you identify what you are allergic to in order to avoid it. Allergy avoidance involves keeping windows closed, limiting exposures to potential allergens, weekly vacuuming and dusting, placing hypoallergenic filters in HVAC intake vents, and using sinus irrigation (always with filtered or distilled water).

Medications are useful in treating allergies (allergic asthma, conjunctivitis, and/or rhinitis). Appropriate medications should be started 4 weeks in advance of an allergy season to insure the patient is adequately covered when exposed to the allergen. Your friendly primary care physician or allergist can help provide a customized strategy regarding which medications will be useful and when to start. Some allergy sufferers do not like taking medications or don't respond fully to them. For these patients, immunotherapy is an extremely good option.