Maryland State Wire

• The 26th annual Allergy & Asthma Day Capitol Hill will take place in Washington, D.C., on May 3.
• People with allergies and asthma will have the opportunity to meet with lawmakers.
• The event is free, but registration is required.

On May 3, the 26th annual Allergy & Asthma Day Capitol Hill will take place in Washington, D.C., where people who suffer from allergies or asthma can meet with lawmakers and share their stories.

The schedule for attendees includes an advocacy training and breakfast, in-person advocacy meetings with members of Congress and their staff, and a lunch briefing with members of the Congressional Asthma & Allergy Caucus. Allergists and federal agency representatives will also take part in the lunch briefing. Participation is free, but attendees must register.

Dr. Manish Khanna of Capitol Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers says that people who suffer from allergies can experience unpleasant symptoms and even develop sinus infections as a result.

"You're doing your spring cleaning, and you breathe in a bunch of dust," Khanna told Maryland State Wire. "This inflammatory process clogs those little tiny openings, and when those openings are clogged, the mucus that the sinus lining is producing just hangs around in the nasal passages. That's a nice culture medium for bacteria to overgrow and lead to a sinus infection. It can also lead to really thick postnasal drip that patients feel and lead to a lot of throat clearing, and they start to feel that mucus in the back of their throat, so that's a common symptom of patients who have allergies."

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 and 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.

Allergy symptoms, such as itchy eyes, can be caused by inflammation, which is a result of the body's attempt 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 like cortisol and chemicals like histamine, but studies have shown that those secretions can lead to inflammation, which in turn makes allergy symptoms and asthma even worse.

If you're interested in learning more about the symptoms of allergies and sinusitis, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.