Allergy Treatment

Treating Nasal Allergies

The three treatment options for nasal allergies are:

• avoiding what triggers allergy symptoms



• taking medication to prevent or relieve the allergy symptoms



• taking allergy shots to reduce your sensitivity to triggers

The outcome:

• Avoiding triggers prevents allergic reactions, allowing you to avoid the misery nasal allergies cause.



• Medications will either relieve allergy symptoms or prevent allergic reactions from happening in the first place.



• Allergy shots can reduce or eliminate your sensitivity to triggers, thereby reducing the severity of allergy symptoms or preventing allergy symptoms from developing.

How Treatment for Allergies Helps

A nasal allergy is more than sniffles and a stuffy nose. Even if you feel you can "tough it out" or that it will go away with time, that rarely happens. In fact, untreated or wrongly treated allergies often get worse. So one of the first benefits you get from proper treatment of your allergies is being able to avoid further complications.

But there are plenty of other benefits from getting proper treatment for your allergies. With the proper treatment of your allergies, you can:

• learn how to avoid the triggers for your allergic reactions



• take medications to prevent or relieve your allergy symptoms when you can't avoid allergy triggers



• find allergy treatments that will make you less sensitive to substances that cause allergic reactions

So the right allergy treatment can reduce the misery that comes with the symptoms of an allergic reaction. It might even free you from those allergy symptoms all together.

How to Know if Allergy Treatment is Working

The goal in treating nasal allergies is to avoid the misery and discomfort of allergy symptoms and any disruption they cause in your normal routine. You also want to avoid side effects of medication, such as drowsiness. Talk with your doctor about what you hope to accomplish with allergy treatment. Also, talk about what you can reasonably expect from allergy treatment. Once you work with your doctor to set goals, you can track your allergy symptoms and your reactions to allergy medications. You'll know your allergy treatment is working when you see that you're meeting your goals.

Complications of Untreated Allergies

Nasal allergies aren't something you should ignore. Left untreated, allergies can lead to sinus, throat, ear, and stomach problems. Some of the more serious complications of untreated allergies include:

• sinus infections
• nasal polyps
• ear infections
• asthma attacks
• emotional and social problems

Successfully Managing Your Allergies

You now have some new skills and knowledge to manage your allergies. Remember that signs of successfully managing your nasal allergies include fewer allergies symptoms and a more active lifestyle. Doing what you can to avoid those things that trigger your allergy symptoms, taking the allergy medications you and your healthcare team have chosen, and keeping track of your progress are all steps that will help you achieve those goals.

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Written by Karen Serrano, MD
Emergency Medicine resident at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Reviewed by Lisa V. Suffian, MD
Instructor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine at Saint Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine
Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, Saint Louis University
Board certified in Allergy and Immunology

Last updated June 2008