North Baltimore Journal

• Allergy symptoms include sneezing, a stuffy or runny nose, watery eyes and an itchy nose, eyes or mouth.

• Inflammation is often the cause of these symptoms.

• Potential allergy treatments include over-the-counter medications, nasal sprays and immunotherapy.

There's a good chance your allergy symptoms are the result of inflammation, but there are a variety of treatments that can be used to address allergies.

"You're doing either skin-pick testing on the back or the forearm, and you're placing the allergen and seeing if they develop a flare," Dr. Jamie Oberman of Frederick Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told North Baltimore Journal. "So that's called in vivo testing, and that is still performed, but equally as sensitive and specific is what's called in vitro testing, or RAST. In vitro testing, which is a blood test, we're testing for a specific allergy type antibody. This is a specific antibody to an allergen that somebody is allergic to, and it would be elevated on a blood test."

According to Oberman, the treatment is largely dependent on the expertise of the person administering it. That's why it's important to work with a reputable clinic. 

"It's the duty of the of the physician to provide those alternatives," Oberman said. "So, yes, some still do better with allergy shots, but there's also the sublingual route that we can always consider if they do have a needle phobia or can't make it to a monthly doctor's appointment, if that doesn't work well with their lifestyle, in addition to the medical management."

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, allergies are the sixth-most-common cause of chronic illness in the U.S., with 50 million people suffering from them each year. The chronic sinusitis condition is often linked to nasal swelling caused by allergies and exposure to dust, mold, pollen and spores. 

Inflammation is often a stress response by the body, but it ends up making the condition worse. It's important to seek treatment for allergies, as they are not likely to go away on their own.

Depending on the type and severity of your allergies, your doctor could recommend various treatment options, according to Mayo Clinic. Some treatments options are over-the-counter medications, nasal sprays, immunotherapy or -- for very severe allergies -- carrying an emergency epinephrine shot, such as an EpiPen.

Frederick Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers offers a Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz for readers who want to learn more about allergies, chronic sinusitis and treatments for those conditions.