The weather is starting to get warmer. The trees are starting to bloom. And yes, the allergies are making a comeback.
Unfortunately, it is not good news if you suffer because it looks like we are in for an especially bad allergy season.
Dr. Samuel Friedlander with University Hospitals tells News 5 this is expected to be a high-pollen season, and based on the counts so far, that is the way things are trending.
“For allergy sufferers, it means sneezing, coughing, wheezing and other allergy symptoms,” he noted.
Dr. Friedlander said the tree pollen is out now. Then, the grass pollen hits from May to July, and late August into September brings the ragweed.
But there are some new treatments out that can really help ease the misery.
“We have better methods for boosting people's immune system to try to find out which are the best candidates to improve their allergies,” Dr. Friedlander explained. “And we also have under-the-tongue medicine that is FDA-approved now for certain individuals with allergies.”
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about honey -- specifically local honey -– and the benefits it allegedly has for those suffering from allergies. The idea is you eat the honey, ingesting pollen, and over time it can cure your allergies.
Dr. Friedlander said that is just a myth. He explained that the amount of pollen actually in the honey is extremely small. It is also the wrong kind of pollen since the particles are too large to cause allergies in the first place.
If you suspect you have allergies, Dr. Friedlander said it’s important to get a diagnosis.
“Some of the people that come into my office end up not having allergies,” he said. “They have other issues that we can manage. So, the first thing that we do is to test people to find out what type of allergies they actually have. Then we can fine-tune the treatment plan and we can discuss, things like avoidance strategies.”
