allergydoctor

I am sorry to hear this. You can have symptoms all year round with allergies. Although many people suffer the most symptoms during the spring and summer, when the trees and grasses pollinate, you can also have a dust mite or animal dander allergy. This can cause symptoms year round. Dust mites are little microscopic creatures that like to live in very humid environments, like bedding and other upholstery. They are especially in high concentrations when it is humid outside, like during the rainy season or winter. Using the allergen encasements for the pillow and mattress, and washing bedding in hot water weekly can be hugely effective. This may help with your symptoms if you have this allergy.

I would recommend that you discuss with his allergist the best treatment options for him, since I am not his allergist and am not privy to the specific details of his case. If you have not already discussed oral immunotherapy (OIT) with his allergist, you can consider doing that. Here is some additional information on OIT:

https://www.aaaai.org/tools-for-the-public/conditions-library/allergies/the-current-state-of-oral-immunotherapy

Thanks for asking. My cofounders and I really wanted to make expert allergy care accessible to everyone. There are many parts of the country where there are shortages of specialists, like allergists. We hope that we can make a significant impact in this realm.

I am so sorry that your allergies are so bad this year! You are definitely not alone. Many people (including myself) are having worsening allergies or even new allergies. Studies have demonstrated that climate change and increasing pollution in the environment has contributed to the worsening and increasing allergies that people are having: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9606573/#:~:text=The%20rising%20incidence%20of%20respiratory,and%20climate%20change%20(1)).

The pollen seasons have been shown to be longer and with higher pollen counts in most areas across the country.

In my experience, nasal sprays usually work better for environmental allergies and have less side-effects because they are not absorbed by all parts of the body, like oral antihistamines are. Because nasal sprays go right to where the "action is", or where the symptoms are occurring, they tend to be much more effective. Most of my patients are able to wean off of oral allergy medications once we find the right nasal spray formula that works for them.

Regarding the injections, the injections that we usually recommend are allergy immunotherapy, or allergy shots. These, however, are multiple shots that are administered over the course of several years. The once a year shot that you are referring to might be an injectable steroid, which can be riddled with side-effects and can be quite harmful in some people. We usually do not recommend this course of treatment.