Severe allergic reactions can be life-threatening, but other allergies can make life more difficult for patients in Plantation & Fort Lauderdale FL. Patients with allergies can experience mild to moderate symptoms that interfere with regular activities of daily life. Some patients can experience sinusitis, or inflamed and blocked sinuses, as the result of their allergies. In some cases, Dr. Lee Mandel can perform balloon sinuplasty to relieve sinusitis caused by allergies.
List of Allergens
Allergens can come from a variety of sources. Some of these are avoidable, but others are not.
- Animals: these include pets, such as cats, which are the most common animal allergen. People can also be allergic to dogs, horses, rodents, and bird.
- Outdoor allergens: these can include allergies to pollen from trees, flowers, and other plants, as well as chemicals and substances in the air due to pollution. Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, is another form of allergies caused by exposure to hay. Insect bites and stings can also cause allergic reactions.
- Indoor allergens: these can include dust and dust mites, mold and mold spores in walls, ceilings, and floors, and residual animal hair.
Allergies, especially pollen allergies, are often seasonal and depend on which species are releasing pollen.
Symptoms of Allergies
Food allergies are likely to lead to tingling of the mouth, hives, swelling of the throat and mouth, and even anaphylaxis. Other allergens can lead to symptoms such as conjunctivitis or red and swollen watery eyes, itchy skin with a rash, a runny nose, and facial swelling.
Some patients experience sinusitis when they are exposed to allergens. These reactions involve inflammation of the sinuses, and are more likely with hay fever or an allergic reaction to animals or mold. Mold allergies can also lead to fungal sinus infections.
Treatment for Allergens
The best way to avoid allergic reactions is to avoid the allergen. This can be possible in the case of food allergies and often animal allergies, but is unrealistic in the case of allergens in the environment, such as dust and pollen.
Other treatment strategies for allergens include the following.
- Nasal irrigation, or rinsing the sinuses with a nasal solution with salt and water.
- Reducing moisture in the air to get rid of mold.
- Taking nasal decongestants to clear the sinuses.
- Balloon Sinuplasty to Treat Allergic Sinusitis at Florida Sinus & Snoring Specialists.
If these remedies do not work and patients continue to suffer from sinusitis, doctors may recommend balloon sinuplasty. The procedure involves dilating and clearing the sinuses by inflating a balloon. It is a low-risk procedure that can be done in the clinic under local anesthesia, and it is highly effective.