ROANOKE, Va. – You might suffer from coughing, sneezing and even puffy eyes because spring allergy season is here.
While there might seem like no end in sight, 10 News spoke with a physician assistant about how you can get some relief.
Physician Assistant Brent May with Lewis Gale ENT said that when you come home from a walk, you can do a saline rinse with your nose. There are also over-the-counter nasal sprays you can buy.
He suggested taking antihistamines like Zyrtec and Claritin.
May said you can mix them up if you need to do so to feel better.
Lewis Gale sees about 60 to 65 percent of patients who have allergies during this time of year, according to May. While many people complain about them being worse each year, he said it’s just where we live.
“I think we can just expect it in our region of the country where we live geographically, that tree pollens are typically always high. And so, can I say it’s worse this year versus last year? It’s uncertain, but we’ll kind of have a better gauge of that probably within the next 3 to 4 weeks,” said May.
Just like us, pets also have allergies, but their symptoms just show up differently. Your pet might scratch their ears or lick or shake their heads a lot. When coming home from a walk, they might have red raised bumps on their skin.
Roanoke Valley SPCA CEO Denise Hayes said some people call them sometimes trying to get rid of their pets.
“Unfortunately, a lot of folks don’t really understand allergies because we don’t think about pets as having allergies as we do. So we’ll have a lot of folks who will call and think that you know their pet is always scratching or always itching or maybe their pet doesn’t have any hair and they’re bald or something like that and they just don’t understand what is going on,” said Hayes.
Hayes explained that there are several ways to help your pet if it’s suffering from allergies, though. She said when they come home from a walk and have a rash, you can use a warm, wet washcloth to wipe them down. You can buy medicated baths for them at the pet store, and there are other over-the-counter medications.
If the over-the-counter medications don’t work, Hayes said to call your vet.
Your vet can even show you how to give your pet shots that can help them.
If all of this sounds expensive, the Roanoke Valley SPCA has a medical fund that you can apply for depending on your income.
