00:00Climate change, the allergy season is extended by approximately a month at each end.
00:08So typically we are seeing extended allergy seasons throughout the Midwest, and Minnesota
00:14is no exception.
00:15So we will have the springtime allergens starting early, so people in the past would get symptoms
00:22beginning April, but now they are seeing symptoms in March or sometimes even earlier.
00:28And in the past, the snowfall used to be earlier, but with the climate change now, snowfall
00:35is a little later.
00:36So the ragweed season and the fall allergy season gets extended in the fall time as well.
00:42Also keep in mind there is mold allergy in addition to ragweed and tree pollens and grass
00:48pollens because mold allergy can be bothersome to patients in the fall time, especially when
00:54they are raking leaves in the garden because everything is wet, everything is moist with
00:59the rain, and that can have significant mold exposure.
01:03You know, nowadays there are many medications that are available over-the-counter.
01:08So what is happening now is that people are using over-the-counter medications and not necessarily
01:15going to healthcare providers because in the past, these medications used to be prescription
01:21medications, so it was easier to track patterns in allergy season.
01:27Now, because most medications are over-the-counter, people tend to use over-the-counter medications,
01:32so they are not reported in the medical system as such.
01:36If over-the-counter medications are helping you, perfectly fine.
01:41You are welcome to use over-the-counter medications like antihistamines, nasal sprays, and eye drops.
01:47But if they are not helping you, please note that there are many other treatment options
01:54available that are prescription medications, allergy shots that can provide you immense benefit.
02:01And so in that case, seeing your healthcare provider or allergy specialist can be helpful
02:07because keep in mind that in Minnesota, we all love our beautiful outdoors, and we don't want
02:13to deny anybody the pleasure of enjoying time outdoors when it's feasible, when the weather
02:20is so great.
02:21So those people who have allergies should be taking the right treatment so they can enjoy
02:27the outdoors as much as they want.
02:29They don't have to be stuck at home.
02:31So the two things I would like to add, one is there is something called a neti pot or sinus
02:36rinse over-the-counter, which is water, salt, irrigation of the nose and sinus.
02:40Very, very useful, as long as people do it once a day, every day.
02:46And the second thing I would like to bring to the listener's attention is there are some
02:52nasal sprays that are over-the-counter.
02:55They are called decongestant nasal sprays.
02:58They should not be used on a regular basis.
03:01They can be used only occasionally and not more than three days in a row because they can
03:07cause rebound congestion or addiction.
03:10So be careful about which nasal spray you are using.
03:14There are some nasal sprays that are okay to use continuously.
03:18There are some nasal sprays like decongestant sprays.
03:21They should be used only occasionally.
03:25And certainly patients can ask the pharmacist to get some more information on that.
03:31They should be used in a decongestant sprays.
03:31There are some enthal emojis through the salernese as well.
