Maryland State Wire

• Typical allergy symptoms include sneezing, a stuffy or runny nose, watery eyes and an itchy nose, eyes or mouth.

• Inflammation is very often responsible for allergy symptoms.

• Potential allergy treatments include over-the-counter medications, nasal sprays and immunotherapy,

Inflammation could be the cause of your allergy symptoms, according to Dr. Manish Khanna of Capitol Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers. The good news is that there are a variety of treatments that can be used to address allergies, the doctor said.

"The techniques have gotten more patient-friendly and less invasive," Khanna told Maryland State Wire. "In skin testing now, the needles that are used are very tiny and tolerated extremely well. Patients barely feel the prick, whether it's on their shoulder on their back area. Patients just have to be off their antihistamine medications for 10 days prior, and that is probably more the issue with patients, as opposed to any actual discomfort from the procedure itself."

There are several different methods of allergy testing, Khanna said.

"There's a blood test to look for allergens as well, but the preferred method is to test the patient directly and to do skin testing, which again, is tolerated very well and it's relatively fast," he said. "The alternative option is what's called SLIT (sublingual immunotherapy), where patients actually put drops under the tongue. The positive side of this type of technique is that it’s much easier; patients are doing this at home. As far as we know, there have been no documented cases of anaphylaxis."

 Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that's very rare, even with allergy shots, Khanna said.

"There have been no documented cases of that with sublingual immunotherapy," he said. "A lot of the  European ENTs use SLIT -- much more than it's used here. The European literature states that a lot of the efficacy is pretty close to the allergy injections, so it's certainly a nice alternative for patients from coming into your office on a weekly basis for shots. It’s much more convenient."

More than 50 million Americans are suffering from allergies every year, and allergies are the sixth-most-common cause of chronic illness in the U.S., according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever, can be either seasonal or perennial and can cause sneezing, a stuffy or runny nose, watery eyes and an itchy nose, eyes or mouth.

In adults, chronic sinusitis is often linked to nasal swelling caused by allergies, especially allergies to inhaled dust, mold, pollen or the spores of fungi, according to Harvard Medical School.  

Allergy symptoms, such as itchy eyes, can be caused by inflammation, which is a result of the body attempting to protect itself from allergens, according to MBG Health. When someone is exposed to an allergen, the body's natural stress response is to secrete hormones such as cortisol and chemicals like histamine, but studies have shown that those secretions can lead to inflammation, which in turn makes allergy symptoms, as well as asthma, even worse.

Depending on the type and severity of your allergies, your doctor could recommend various treatment options, according to Mayo Clinic. Some treatments options are over-the-counter medications, nasal sprays, immunotherapy or -- for very severe allergies -- carrying an emergency epinephrine shot, such as an EpiPen.

Readers who are interested in evaluating their sinus or allergy symptoms can take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.