Managing allergies
Get an accurate diagnosis
Your doctor can diagnose allergy and determine the cause of your allergy by asking questions about your symptoms, their triggers and by physically examining you.
It is important to get help even if your symptoms are mild, because an untreated allergy can worsen over time.
There are three ways of managing allergy symptoms regardless of allergy type:
Options for managing allergy - the view from a GP
1. Limit your exposure to triggering allergens
The simplest way to treat an allergy is to avoid contact with the triggering allergen. This is often difficult to implement in practice, since many allergens, such as pollen or animal allergens, are very widespread. But there are some practical avoidance techniques that work, like washing your hair before bed and using air filters and humidifiers at home.
Avoiding pollen Avoiding house dust mite allergens2. Use symptom relievers
Some over-the-counter medicines such as antihistamines can be effective at relieving allergy symptoms. Your doctor may also prescribe you steroid treatment in the form of nasal sprays or skin creams or tablet form.
Non-medical interventions can also be useful. Using a nasal filter can stop you breathing in pollens or the tiny particles left by dust mites, preventing symptoms from occurring.
More about symptom relievers3. Specialist treatments
If avoidance techniques and symptomatic medicines are not alleviating your suffering, it may be worth asking for a referral to an allergy specialist to ask about other possible treatments.