Over time, the body becomes desensitized to the allergens. If you treat someone for tree pollens and other agents but you miss their grass allergy, they will still suffer. Someone who gets a runny nose and itchy eyes twice a year doesn't need immunotherapy shots, Sibilia says. Hessler says the treatment of last resort would be steroid therapy, like the synthetic cortisone shots that George Bell gets each spring. The drug is effective for six weeks, but it comes with all the drawbacks and side effects of steroids.
Doctors agree that avoidance is the most effective allergy treatment.
Tree pollens are the first to be released in the spring. Flowering fruit and ornamental trees cause fewer problems because they rely on insects to pollinate them, not air. As the tree pollen season ends, the grass pollen season kicks in. Some people may mistakenly think they are allergic to grass pollens if they get sniffly and itchy while mowing. The mower may just be kicking up the tree pollens, especially in dry weather.