We take pride in things being bigger and better in Texas. But bigger is not always better, of course, such as when you consider the unpleasant symptoms that people experience because of seasonal allergies. Allergens can be responsible for a range of reactions, such as causing a patient to sneeze profusely, have a runny nose or stuffed nose and experience itchy or painful sinuses.Whether you are a newcomer to Texas and have only just started feeling the effects of allergy season here or if you are a long-time resident trying to cope with the symptoms, you will want to take steps to minimize them. It’s always prudent to have seasonal allergy remedies available so you can take them as soon as they’re needed. Otherwise, you’ll continue to feel stuffy and inflamed. With that in mind, it would be a good idea for you to become familiar with things that can make your seasonal allergies even worse.

Reasons Your Seasonal Allergies May Be Worse

Becoming more familiar with the causes of allergies will help you avoid experiencing the worst symptoms. Approximately 50 million people in America currently suffer from seasonal allergies, according to a report from Prevention magazine, which included details on things that can make your seasonal allergies worse:

 
• Excessive Alcohol Consumption: Each drink containing alcohol can increase your risk of getting allergic rhinitis by 3 percent. Researchers theorize that bacteria and yeast in alcohol cause people to produce allergy-symptom causing histamines.
 
• Failure to Take Allergy Medications on Time: If you rely on antihistamines to curb allergy symptoms, you won’t get proper relief if you don’t take them before exposure to allergens. Follow the drug manufacturer’s instructions and consider setting a daily alarm on your smartphone to remind you to take allergy medication.

 
• Inadequate Laundry Hygiene: If you do not use hot water to wash your bed sheets, chances are you are not killing all the dust mites (which provoke allergic reactions). Water heated to 140 degrees F will kill 100 percent of dust mites while water kept at the warm setting of 104 F would only kill 6.5 percent of the mites.
 
• Indoor Swimming Pool: The chlorine people add to pools is designed to keep the water disinfected, but this chemical will irritate your respiratory tract. Wear a mask while swimming to avoid this source of irritation.

 
• Too Much Stress: Stress hormones that increase in production while you are on deadline at school or work will tend to exacerbate the effects of seasonal allergies. What’s more, if added stress is interfering with your sleep patterns, you should be aware that lack of sleep is another intensifier of allergy symptoms.

When Medications Fail to Help

If over-the-counter and prescription medications are not doing enough to help you deal with the symptoms of seasonal allergies, you may be at your wit’s end trying to find relief. You will be glad to know that an FDA-approved procedure called balloon sinuplasty has been available here for many years.A physician simply places a balloon into your sinus cavity, and then it’s just a matter of inflating it gently so it reshapes your nasal passages, which serves to bring you relief from sinus discomfort and pain. For details about balloon sinuplasty or to set an appointment, please contact the American Sinus Institute today.