During the spring season, allergies, including eye allergies, tend to reach a peak. If you suffer from itchy eyes in the spring, there are several strategies that you can implement to reduce your allergy symptoms. These include:
Using Anti-Allergy Drops
Anti-allergy drops are the most widely used treatment for eye allergies. The most widely effective allergy drops, called Pataday, recently became available without a prescription. For most patients, Pataday is the best way to ward off eye allergy symptoms.
There are several benefits of using Pataday to manage your eye allergies, including:
- After one drop, Pataday provides eye allergy relief for 12 to 24 hours.
- It’s highly effective, providing 95% or greater relief for most patients.
- It can relieve itchiness in the eyelid when it’s applied to the eye alone.
- As a mast cell stabilizer, Pataday will not only relieve your current symptoms but also help prevent allergic reactions.
- Pataday doesn’t come with the risk of side effects associated with steroid eye drops.
In the vast majority of cases, Pataday provides complete eye allergy relief. However, for the very small percentage of patients who don’t get full relief, a short course of mild steroid eye drops is often helpful. Steroid drops must be used with close doctor supervision and shouldn’t be used in the long term.
Wear Sunglasses Outside
Wearing sunglasses can keep some pollen and other springtime allergens from getting in your eyes. While this shouldn’t be your only strategy for eye allergies, it may help reduce your symptoms.
Remove Contact Lenses After Being Outside
If you wear contact lenses, pollen and other allergens can stick to them when you go outside. Lenses can trap allergens and hold them against your eyes, leading to increased allergy symptoms. So, consider removing contact lenses or cleaning them thoroughly after spending time outside.
For more information about eye allergy treatment, schedule an appointment at The Eye Clinic of Florida today.