Colorado allergy doctor advises treating spring allergies before they hit
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Spring time is in the air. Literally. It's that time of the year when pollen reports are beginning to show what exactly is causing our itchy, sneezy, head-pounding feelings.
"We live in Colorado. We always think spring starts when the snow stops, April May, whenever that happens — but the pollen, from a spring perspective, actually started about a month ago," says Dr. Christopher Webber of Colorado ENT and Allergy.
Dr. Webber says the best way to tackle your allergies is by starting treatment at least a month in advance.
"A lot of the over-the-counter tablets you take tend to work pretty fast. You take them and within a few days they start to work. But most people need nose sprays, and those can take up to a month before they reach full strength," explains Dr. Webber.
"So people who just take them as needed or when they feel really bad...that's too late."
It's especially important to protect your lungs during COVID-19. Though allergies don't appear to add higher risk to catch the virus, if your airways are inflamed, you're less able to clear viruses. And the faster you treat your allergies, the faster you can narrow down if what you're feeling is allergies or something much more serious.
"With allergies you get itchy, runny, sneezy, stuffy, drainage. With COVID, you can get runny, sneezy, drainage, fever — there's a lot of similar symptoms," says Dr. Webber.
"And the distinction between the two would really come down to a test."
Dr. Webber's best advice, is not to let the season come and go without you feeling your best.
""I see so many patients who come in for allergies or asthma who just learn to deal with it — who are very tough individuals, who live their life, go hiking — they're just a little miserable. And when I finally get to see them and get them on a good plan and feeling better, then it just makes them feel so much better," Dr. Webber says.
"They can do everything they were doing before, but with no limitations."
