Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Things You’ll Need:
- Appointment with an allergist
- Health insurance
Step1
Check your health insurance to see if it covers visits to an allergist. If it does not, or you do not have health insurance, see what you can do to address this problem.
Step2
Make an appointment with an allergist. Even if over-the-counter medicines work to combat your allergy symptoms, they are really only covering up the problem. A visit to an allergist can help determine if there are more effective medications for you, or if you would benefit from allergy testing.
Step3
Explore options with your doctor. She may suggest that you take an allergy test to see what specific allergies you have. If this test comes out positive for certain allergies, you may also have the option of taking allergy shots (which basically work over a long period of time to vaccinate you against your allergies). Again, you will have to make sure your insurance covers any of these options.
Step4
Eliminate non-seasonal allergens. While you may in fact have seasonal allergies, your allergy test might reveal allergies to year-round allergens like dust mites and mold. If so, ask your doctor how to minimize your exposure to these irritants, which will obviously compound your problems during seasonal allergy season.
Step5
Keep abreast of the weather. No matter how much medication you are on, days with high pollen counts might be difficult. Knowing the pollen situation upfront may help you plan your day (see below to learn how to get allergy alerts in your email).
Novice 
