If you felt your allergies flare up this week, you’re not alone. Many people were reaching for the tissues as the pollen count skyrocketed.
Leonel Silvestre and his young daughter both suffer from allergies.
“Every time she’s got something, you feel it as a parent. Instead of them having it, we wish we have it,” said Silvestre.
He says they take steps to minimize their symptoms during allergy season. Many parents are dealing with the same struggle to find relief for their children.
Medical professionals say relief begins with finding the root cause.
“Everybody’s heard of it: Cedar fever, and it’s here,” said Mikala Schooler, a nurse practitioner with Anthony Medical and Chiropractic in Temple.
Mountain cedar is one of the most potent allergens in Texas.
Medical providers say testing is an important step that shouldn't be skipped in order to get to the heart of any allergy issues.
“A lot of people in this area just assume that they’re allergic to cedar, so they come in and get tested and they’re not actually allergic to cedar at all. They’re allergic to all the other trees that are also pollinating at the same time,” said Schooler.
Identifying an allergen is key in finding the appropriate treatment.
“We’ll put cedar pollen in your allergy drops, but we put it at a really low dose and every time you refill your allergy medication, these drops will make it stronger and stronger and that’s how you build immunity,” said Schooler.
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