Dr. Ross Tanis advises allergy sufferers try common treatments from the drugstore, then visiting a doctor if conditions persist. (Jim Slonoff photo)
What should people know about fall allergies?
When it comes to cherished autumn trappings, ragweed and mold do not rate highly, especially for allergy sufferers. Dr. Ross Tanis of Hinsdale's Allergy & Asthma Physicians said patients may notice that the period when symptoms are most acute is becoming more protracted.
"The warmer seasons are longer, and for that reason you're seeing people having seasonal allergies last longer throughout the year," Tanis said.
He cited a University of Wisconsin report from last spring that documented the earliest ever onset of tree pollen.
"The warming and longer seasons is definitely giving people with seasonal allergies more grief for longer," he said.
The seasonal allergies manifested through sneezing and congestion - what physicians call allergic rhinitis - can often most easily be treated by over-the-counter nasal sprays, which can contain steroids.
"A lot of people don't want to use them because they're uncomfortable or they hear the word 'steroid' and they think of the bad side effects of them, but the doses are so much lower that we don't worry the same way that we do with oral steroids," he said.
Oral antihistamines like popular brands Claritin and Zyrtec can also be effective for some patients if they control symptoms or symptoms are mild, he said.
Nasal sprays, however, offer more sustained relief.
"Antihistamines are more of a band-aid than a long-term solution," Tanis said, while noting that they're safe to take on a regular basis. "They mask the symptoms for the duration of how long the pill lasts, so you have to keep taking them.
"When you use the steroid nasal spray, it really starts to treat that inflammation in the nose so you get better relief of the chronic congestion that you have," he continued. "A lot of those symptoms tend to go away, and you don't have that rebound effect when you miss a dose here and there."
He said an allergist should be consulted when one doesn't see improvement.
"If you're using these treatments and they're either not working or you're confused as to how you should use them, that's when you should seek some advice," Tanis said.
As the holidays approach, some people experience hay fever or hypersensitivity in what may seem to be in reaction to their decor.
"In the winter time, they'll say 'I'm allergic to my Christmas tree,' " Tanis said. "It's actually alternaria, which is a mold outside that lives in theses trees that's very hard to kill."
He said many have trouble distinguishing between an allergic reaction and a virus.
"If anything what we find is allergies are misdiagnosed as colds," he said. "If you always have these symptoms, they don't respond to antibiotics, then it's very easy to know what it is."
Other people experience allergy remission, when the body's immune system doesn't have a reaction to allergens as it once did.
"But it could come back," Tanis cautioned. "You have propensity for it to come back at any point in your life."
