If you have gone through your childhood and into your early adult life without suffering from allergies, you may be caught off guard to find yourself suddenly experiencing seasonal allergies one year. However, many people develop allergies as an adult and aren't sure what they can do to relieve their discomfort. When your congestion, itching, and runny nose (among other symptoms) seem to be getting out of hand, you need to know some of the treatment options that can provide you with the relief that you need for your adult onset allergies.

Take a Daily Over-the-Counter Antihistamine

Antihistamines are an excellent treatment option to help you fight off the severe symptoms of your adult onset allergies. The problem is that because you have never had allergies before, you may only be taking antihistamines every once in a while to deal with the most severe of your allergy symptoms (the way you would take medications for colds or other illnesses).

However, once your allergies have come to the point that you are absolutely miserable, taking just one dose of antihistamines may have only a minimal effect. Antihistamine medications are often much more effective when you take them regularly rather than sporadically. During allergy season, take a daily antihistamine and you will likely find that your adult onset allergy symptoms are more manageable and disrupt your life less than if you wait until your symptoms are severe to take it.

Nasal Spray

When your allergy symptoms become severe and your nasal congestion gets to be too much to bear, you may want to consider a nasal spray to help clear up your sinuses. Nasal congestion occurs due to inflammation inside the nasal cavity as well as the sinuses.

This inflammation occurs when the body reacts to the allergens (often pollen) entering the body through the eyes, mouth, and especially the nose. To try to block the entrance of these substances the body will react and narrow those points of entry. That reaction can account for your eyes swelling, anaphylaxis (throat closing), and nasal congestion symptoms of allergies.

An anti-inflammatory nasal spray, such as the fluticasone nasal spray, can help to relieve your nasal congestion and associated discomfort. The steroid nasal spray, fluticasone, is a potent anti-inflammatory medication that begins to act almost immediately to relieve pain and pressure. There are over-the-counter and prescription options for fluticasone and other steroidal and nonsteroidal nasal sprays that can quickly relieve symptoms. However, it is important to follow the directions of your doctor and/or on the nasal spray package, as overuse of nasal sprays can worsen your health problems in the long run. You can find nasal sprays through a company like Dymista.

Now that you know a few of the treatment options available to you for your adult onset allergies, you can be sure you are taking positive steps to get your symptoms under control and learn to manage your allergies now and in the allergy seasons to come.