Allergies: Symptoms, Reaction, Treatment & Management

CVS Health Professional Addresses Accessible Ways Patients Can Treat Seasonal Allergies Ahead Of Increasing Pollen Uptick

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As many start to experience more sneezing and sniffling with the arrival of increased pollen and springtime allergies, a health professional at CVS is laying out some of the many symptoms and treatments to look out for as the season gets in full swing.

A registered pharmacist and Pharmacy District Leader at CVS Health, Sarah Matichak told MetroNews that West Virginia is reporting high pollen activity this year as we make the transition from winter to spring. She said as tree pollen count is high, particularly for Maple trees, Juniper, and Elm, this in turn causes histamines to be high in people who have a history of allergies.

However, Matichak said health professionals are currently recommending patients to pre-treat the problem in order to help alleviate the allergy-inducing pollen uptick.

"It's as simple as doing a non-medicated solution such as a saline eye drop or a nasal spray to essentially just flush that pollen and those allergens out of the eye and the nasal canal," Matichak told MetroNews.

She said patients can actually start taking any one kind of over-the-counter medication about two to four weeks prior to the high-level of pollen exposure. These medications include antihistamines, corticosteroids, and decongestants.

Matichak said antihistamines are notable in helping with symptoms of runny noses and watery eyes.

She said there are two generations of antihistamines, however, one that causes drowsiness and one that doesn't. The first generation includes medications such as Benadryl which has been known to cause significant drowsiness, Matichak said, and recommends patients who operate on heavy machinery to take the second generation non-drowsy antihistamines to treat their allergy symptoms.

She said all of the second generation antihistamines are also very accessible for patients to get.

"Those include anything from Allegra, Zyrtec, Claritin," she said. "Those can be found over-the-counter and you do not need a prescription, they also come in a generic brand, for instance, if you were to take our CVS Health brand it's a little bit less expensive but still the same great quality that you would get in the brand name medication," Matichak said.

Matichak said the second class of allergy medication they recommend is corticosteroids, or nasal sprays such as Flonase which can also be purchased over-the-counter now. She said these types of medications help patients dealing with a stuffy nose and who is having trouble smelling and tasting.

Somewhat similar to the second class, Matichak said the third class of allergy medications are decongestants, which are for those who may experience more severe symptoms of stuffy noses and congestion.

She said specific medications for this class include Sudafed, which while can be purchased over-the-counter, most states require people to show their drivers license upon obtaining it.

Matichak said on the opposite side from those antihistamines that make one drowsy, a side-effect medical professionals look out for in patients taking decongestants is the tendency to keep them awake and potentially cause insomnia.

Currently, symptoms of allergies, Covid-19, and the flu, among other infections are very similar Matichak said. However, she said there are some telltale signs which are very distinct when it comes to other infections that aren't allergy-related.

"If somebody reports to the pharmacy or comes to one of our CVS Minute Clinics and sees a nurse practitioner, if they're having those body aches, fever, chills, headaches, those are symptoms more of flu or Covid versus the symptoms of allergies," she said.

Matichak added, however, that allergy symptoms hit somewhat differently.

"Some of the main symptoms of allergies could include again like I said, the watery eyes, the runny nose, also itchy eyes, congestion, those symptoms are more common in allergies," said Matichak.

According to CVS Health, one in four Americans experience seasonal allergies.

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