Retraining Your Sense of Smell After COVID
By now you’re probably aware that anosmia, the medical term for loss of smell, is one of the hallmark symptoms of COVID-19. While the exact number of patients affected varies, the experience averages out to about 41 percent.1 Indeed, loss of smell is so common that some professionals advocate using smell as a diagnostic test…
Skip the Shot with Allergy Drops
Do you suffer from itchy, watery eyes, congestion, runny nose, sneezing and wheezing that are not well-controlled with over-the-counter medications? If so, you may be a good candidate for immunotherapy. A new form of immunotherapy that’s gaining popularity is allergy drops. Allergies Are an Immune System Response To understand how immunotherapy works, it’s important to…
Preparing Yourself for Autumn Allergies
Autumn is approaching and that means saying goodbye to hot weather and late sunsets. Unfortunately, it does not mean saying goodbye to seasonal allergies. If you find yourself experiencing itchy eyes and a runny nose after a run through Minto-Brown Island Park there’s a good chance you’re reacting to one of autumn’s most prominent allergens:…
Allergies: Why Do They Develop?
If you have allergies, you may remember the first time you had a reaction, but do you know why it happened? Below we review how and why allergies develop. Allergies Are on the Rise An estimated 400 million individuals across the globe experience hay fever, and between 200 and 250 million experience food allergies. According…
How to Manage Allergies During Pregnancy
Is there anything worse than your pregnancy symptoms being compounded with your allergy symptoms? Below we discuss allergy symptoms during pregnancy and how to find relief. Allergy Symptoms During Pregnancy If you don’t normally experience allergies but seem to have developed symptoms during pregnancy, you may be experiencing pregnancy rhinitis. Pregnancy rhinitis describes allergy-like symptoms,…
Outdoor Exercise with Allergies
The beautiful summer weather has many skipping the gym and instead opting to work out outdoors. Unfortunately, for people with allergies, this can be challenging. We review tips for outdoor exercise when you have allergies below. Identify Your Triggers An allergy test can reveal exactly what it is that you’re allergic to, which can help…
How Does Rain Affect Allergies?
After the heat we’ve experienced this summer, many of us are looking forward to the rain that comes every fall in the Pacific Northwest. Many people think of fall as the end of allergy season, but for many, this is not true. Fall allergens such as ragweed and year-round allergens like dust mites and mold…
Summer Allergies & How to Handle Them
If you experience itchy, watery eyes, congestion, sneezing or a rash during the summer months, there’s a solid chance you have summer allergies. Below we review what causes summer allergies and what you can do to handle them. Causes of Summer Allergies The main causes of summer allergies are pollen, smog, mold, dust mites and…
How to Control Summer Environmental Allergies
Between the blossoming flowers on the trees in town and getting to visit outdoor public hot spots again, who doesn’t love summer? If you have seasonal allergies, you may think that the runny nose, sneezing and itching makes this time miserable, but it doesn’t have to. Below we provide tips to help you manage your…
Different Types of Allergy Testing
When you’re out walking around at Woodmansee Park and begin to experience itchy, watery eyes, congestion and sneezing, it’s likely because you’ve been exposed to an allergen. Allergens are substances that are normally harmless but that the immune system deems a threat. To fight the intruder, the immune system releases antibodies called Immunoglobulin E (IgE),…
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