Nothing to sneeze at: Tips on reducing your allergies

Stupid allergies.

Do you have the symptoms? Runny nose. Coughing. Sneezing. Itchy eyes. The disgusting feeling that your brain may be swimming in a pool of mucus.

Just this month, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released its annual fall allergy report, which ranked Salt Lake City as No. 58 on a list of the 100 worst cities for people affected by airborne allergens this season. That's an increase over last year, when the city ranked at 63.

The biggest culprit? Weed pollens, according to Intermountain Allergy and Asthma, the only certified pollen counting station in Utah.

The good news is cold weather is fast approaching. Utah's allergy season typically lasts from early March until the first hard frost in late September or October.

But there's still a range of information (from conventional medication to more holistic therapies) that might help you manage your symptoms now and in future seasons.

For Betty Williams, a Salt Lake-based tax accountant, traditional asthma and allergy medications helped her to manage symptoms that became strongly pronounced this July. She has always suffered from seasonal allergies, but this spring, she began waking up in the middle of the night with trouble breathing.

Williams set up an appointment with Dr. Charles Rogers, an allergist and owner of Allergy Associates of Utah, and learned her lung function was 43 percent of normal. A week later, during a follow-up visit, her lung function was measured at 90 percent, and Williams said she felt her energy levels increase dramatically.

"The tricky thing for me is that I thought how I felt was normal for me," Williams said during a July interview. "I hadn't done much with (my symptoms), but now I will because the difference in the last couple days with these things — I'm amazed. The increase in my energy level is like 10-fold compared to where I was a week ago."

Rogers said he believes there are three key ways a person can manage their allergies: reduce exposure to allergens, try various medications or be treated with allergy shots.

When he first meets with a patient, Rogers said he will ask for a detailed medical history and description of symptoms. The people he suspects have allergies are given a test where their skin is pricked with various allergens to see what they react to.

A lung function test is given to patients who might have asthma, and after testing, a treatment plan is outlined.

For people who are reticent to take allergy medications or get shots, Dr. Gregory Wickern with Intermountain Allergy and Asthma recommends they avoid exposure to allergens as much as possible.