East Panhandle News

• About 50 million Americans suffer from allergies each year.
• Allergic reactions can vary from mild irritation to severe discomfort, with symptoms including sneezing, a runny nose, and itchy, watery, or swollen eyes.
• Allergies and sinusitis share many of the same symptoms, often exacerbating each other and making both conditions worse.

With summer in full bloom, it is important to remember how allergies can change with the season and how they can impact someone’s health. According to Dr. Matthew Blair of Gulf Coast Breathe Free, environmental factors and seasonal changes can significantly influence a person's allergies.

“Allergies are a condition where your body reacts to an allergen in the environment, especially in your nose. Your nose is covered with a mucous membrane similar to your mouth,” Dr. Blair told the East Panhandle News. “If you already have an anatomical problem, let's say that you have a deviated septum or some anatomic variation where you're already having narrowing in your sinuses or your nasal cavity—just a little bit of irritation from an allergy, whether it's an allergy that's out there all year round or in a certain season, is really going to affect your nasal health.”

While spring allergies may subside as trees and flowers finish blooming, summer allergies triggered by weeds and grasses become the next concern for allergy sufferers. According to WebMD, one of the most common allergy triggers in the summer is ragweed. Its pollen can travel hundreds of miles on the wind, affecting areas far beyond where it originally grew.

The 50 million Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies may experience sneezing, coughing, congestion, itchy eyes, a runny nose, and fatigue, according to Yale Medicine. 

To diagnose allergies, doctors will typically review a patient’s symptoms and medical history and then recommend either a blood test or a skin test, according to WebMD. For a skin test, the doctor will place a small amount of the allergen on the patient's skin, typically on the forearm or back. If the patient is allergic to that particular allergen, a small, itchy bump will appear.

According to Yale Medicine, the other option is a blood test, where the patient's blood is drawn and analyzed for allergens in a lab. Although this method takes longer, it enables doctors to test for a wider range of allergies compared to a skin test. 

Sinusitis can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungus and allergies. If symptoms persist for longer than three months, the condition is classified as chronic sinusitis.

Dr. Matthew Blair earned his Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Immunology with a minor in chemistry from the University of Miami, according to the Gulf Coast Breathe Free's website. He obtained his medical degree from Nova Southeastern University in 2010 and completed his internship and residency in otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery at McLaren Oakland Hospital in Michigan. Dr. Blair achieved board certification in 2015.