Tips for dealing with allergies this fall

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Allergy season is upon us and this season is expected to be a doozy. 
One in four people deal with allergies every year and one of those people is regular walker Debbie Brotz. She says she experiences, “Some sneezy, watery eyes, itchy eyes.”
“Fall allergies — we have ragweed and Midwest is the capital of ragweed. We have a lot of patients with ragweed allergies causing stuffy nose, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, red eye, even asthma can happen,” said Dr. Pramod Kelkar, an allergist with Allina Health Woodbury.
He says the summer weather is yielding some fall consequences. Wet rain means more mold.
“Yes, because then you have double trouble, you have ragweed plus mold,” Kelkar said.
He says this year raking will be extra irritating.
“Some people, what they do is take over-the-counter histamine like Allegra, Zyrtec, Claritin before they mow their lawn or rake the leaves, they might wear a mask and, most importantly, they will take a shower after they work or rake in the garden,” Kelkar said.
Kelkar says you can try and get ahead of allergies.
“If you want to prevent allergies, best thing you can do is use sinus rinse or neti pot every day, shower every evening cause that way, you can wash off all the allergens,” he said.
Those are a few ways to stay healthier on the inside so you can stay outside, like Brotz who says allergies won’t hold her back,
Kelkar says if over-the-counter meds do not work, see your health provider.
If that doesn’t work, see an allergist as you could be a candidate for the oldest and most effective treatment: allergy shots.