It’s peak allergy season and all the weeds out there from a dry summer are making many people sniffle and sneeze, right now.Dr. Jeffery Nugent from Northern Nevada Allergy says this year is looking similar to years past. But that isn't making their suffering any easier.
At 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, the waiting room of Northern Nevada Allergy in Reno is packed with both adults and kids. It’s the end of summer and the beginning of the fall, when weed pollination really starts to increase. "Airborne pollen you can't see, but you may certainly feel it and experience it,” said Dr. Nugent.
This change in the environment makes this a really tough time for those with allergies.“I would basically sneeze a lot and it was kind of hard to breath,” said 13-year-old allergy sufferer Veronica Cordero. “It was pretty terrifying as a parent you know you kind of freak out at first,” said her father Mike Cordero.
Mike Cordero brought his 13-year-old daughter Veronica to the clinic to get an allergy shot. They’re hoping it will make it easier for her to deal with the allergy season.Allergy shots often help stop or reduce allergy attacks. “You don't know what to do. I can only give her so much over the counter medicine,” said Mike Cordero. “We have three main ways to address allergies. You can avoid what you are allergic to. You can take drugs to suppress it. Or we can try to redirect your immune system through either shots or drops,” said Dr. Nugent.
People often mistake allergies as a cold or the flu. But there is a difference in the symptoms, especially when it comes to allergies and the corresponding itching that may come with it. “Congestion, drainage, sneezing watering, itching, or ocular tearing, redness, itching, rubbing, and watering eyes are all symptoms of allergies. When they think allergies that's usually what we think of. Or itching of the skin, hives, or inflammation of the skin. But the allergic process can actually involve any system that interacts with the outside world, like allergic asthma,” said Dr. Nugent.
The allergies that come with this time of year can have worse effects for those who have asthma. So it's recommended that asthma sufferers should carry their inhaler with them or have it handy right now, in case they need it.
