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SALT LAKE CITY — For landscaper Craig Newbold, fighting allergies is just a part of daily life.
"I work outside, so I'm outside in the dust and the grass all the time, and it's pretty miserable," Newbold said.
Over-the-counter allergy medication wasn't really doing the trick. When his daughter, Charli Newbold, started showing symptoms, he knew he had to do something more. She said, "It was horrible! I was itching everywhere, and it was bad."
This fall sagebrush and ragweed have a lot of people sneezing, itching and wheezing. Allergist Dr. Scott Taylor said the first step is avoidance. People should stay inside and shut their windows. Over-the-counter medications may help with symptoms.
But like the Newbolds, not all allergies can be avoided or helped with medication. "If that doesn't work there are other options, such as desensitization, that could include allergy shots and also now includes tablets you put below the tongue ... recently been approved by the FDA," Taylor said.
The Newbolds are now on a four- to five-year desensitization shot program that triggers their specific allergy. They come in for injections once a month. Charli Newbold said it's a good trade for not having her allergies, "I go on the grass a lot at recess, and so like I can do that without having to get as itchy, but before when we didn't get our shots I was super itchy on the legs."
Allergy symptoms can also easily be mistaken for cold symptoms. Taylor said use the seven- to 10-rule to see if your cold is really an allergy. If symptoms last more than seven to 10 days and they happen the same time of year, it's worth getting checked out by a certified allergist.
