Despite the groundhog's prediction for more winter, spring is doing its level best to arrive! Many students and adults in our community are starting to suffer from extreme seasonal allergy symptoms like puffy, irritated eyes, itching skin, sore throats, stuffy noses, coughing, sneezing, and throats tender from post nasal drip (which can also sometimes cause nausea and vomiting). If you are already under the care of a provider to treat these symptoms, this is the time to return to any regimen you may have paused during the winter allergy reprieve. If you aren't sure where to start with allergy medications, please check in with your pediatrician for specific advice. In the meantime, washing hair and faces at night before bed or after outdoor activities, laundering bedding frequently, and regularly changing furnace filters are simple steps that can help limit exposure to outdoor environmental allergens like pollen.
Students experiencing allergy symptoms at school have a hard time focusing and the truth is there is almost nothing the clinic can offer in the moment to treat seasonal allergy symptoms and improve a student's ability to participate in his or her education.