Fall Ragweed Allergy
By Norman Fleming, Thu Dec 8th

It's that time of year again. You see it and you feel it. Theitchy and watery eyes, the runny nose, the sneezing, a bit of atight feeling in your chest. It's season - again!

In the springtime we deal with the trees coming into bloom. Thistime of year the culprit is ragweed. Ragweed is a weedthat pollinates in late summer and fall. It's been a very hotand dry August, perfect weather conditions for ragweed toflourish. The ragweed season lasts up to eight weeks andgenerally peaks in mid September.

75% of Americans who suffer from allergies are allergic toragweed. Some people who suffer with a ragweed may alsofind themselves allergic to bananas or cantaloups.

There is no cure for ragweed allergies. The best way to lessensymptoms of ragweed allergies, as with any allergy, is to avoidcontact with the allergen. However, this can be difficult

asragweed pollen is in the air we must breath. It's not as easy asavoiding your friend's cat.

Most medical professionals suggest an over the counterdecongestant or antihistamine to treat the symptoms associatedwith seasonal allergies.

However, if over the counter medications do not provide enoughrelief shots, or what is called immunotherapy would bein order. A skin patch test would be performed to determine theexact allergens causing problems and serum would be created withsmall amounts of those allergens. Regular shots would be given.Most immunotherapy treatments last up to two years beforemaximum benefit is achieved.

In some severe cases people who also have asthma find theirasthma is made worse by exposure to ragweed pollen. It has beenfound that some asthma suffers benefit from receivingimmunotherapy and that over time this therapy can result in lessfrequent and less severe asthma attacks.

About the author:This article courtesy of http://www.about-allergies.net