Thursday, April 8, 2010

Spring is in the Air


Spring is in the air and allergies are coming with them. In Georgia, April brings the Masters, beautiful blooms on the trees and pollen. The pollen covers everything with a thin film of yellow that runs down the streets after a good spring rain.

With this new life, we all experience some form of allergy. (Almost all of us anyway.) For some it is a runny nose and sneezing and for others a sinus headache. But many have the dreaded watery and itchy eyes - our speciality.

So what should you do if you have eye allergies? First, you should resist the urge to rub your eyes. This can cause a release of inflammatory cells and make things worse. Try instead, using a cold cloth on your eyes to relieve the itchiness and irritation. There are many over-the-counter drops that help with itching and redness but be careful not to use too regularly as they can actually cause a dependency on the drop.

If cold cloths and OTC drops aren't enough, we can prescribe drops that have quick action and are long-lasting. For some patients, we change their contact lenses to daily disposable during allergy season or permanently. Other treatments are available so that no one has to suffer this allergy season.