For many unfortunate allergy sufferers, cedar pollen will soon be in the air. In terms of avoidance, this is pretty difficult to do, since the pollen is very light and airborne and can be coming from a few miles away even. Thus, even if you do not live next to a cedar tree, you’ll encounter some cedar pollen in the air you breathe. Having said that, if possible, stay indoors during the morning hours as pollen counts are higher.
Now in terms of daily symptomatic care, we recommend daily saline rinses, intranasal steroid sprays and oral antihistamines. Good over the counter (OTC) nasal sprays include Flonase, Nasacort, and Rhinocort. Good OTC antihistamines include Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra, and Xyzal. Keep in mind, generic substitutes are fine to use and may even save you a couple of bucks! There is now a subscription service called Curist (for which we serve as Physician Advisors) that can mail you generics as a bundle, which is also really nice.
For now, enjoy some cool weather but be sure to call us to discuss further treatment options for cedar, and other seasonal allergies, because for most patients, getting to the root cause with allergy drops or shots will be the most effective treatment!
