Have you been having a lot of itchy eyes, drippy noses and even some coughing from the drainage? I hate allergy season. It seems that everyone around you are miserable. It’s so common in Oklahoma.. it’s almost a right of passage for being a resident here.

Some of the most offensive allergens in Oklahoma range from Cottonwoods, Cedar, Bradford pear, mold, ragweed, and of course grasses. This doesn’t even go into animals and food issues. This is a real problem for many Oklahoman’s.

I know I suffer greatly during certain times of the year. I can’t stand those stupid pear trees.. lol I know they look pretty and grow quickly. But I would argue that they break easily during high winds and they stink. I don’t understand why our cities and municipalities don’t use Redbud trees instead since that is our state tree. They are attractive and I haven’t heard of anyone that is allergic to them. I may find out today from my allergist if that’s true.

Today is the first day of summer but the first full day of summer is tomorrow. Usually allergies are predominantly in the spring and fall but the weather is changing. Normal isn’t normal any longer. So you could still be having tons of problems.

Generally if your eyes are itching they have a high likelihood of allergy. There are some very good over the counter eye drops for allergies. I particularly like Alaway. It’s safe for children as young as 2. It’s prescribed for twice a day. However, in an emergency you can simply use ice compresses. The ice constricts the blood vessels in the eye area which restricts the release of the histamines. You can repeat this as many times during the day as you need to.

This is not to be considered medical advice for every itchy runny eye because if it doesn’t respond within the first day you should definitely come on in and let me see you and determine if it’s allergies or something else. Sometimes we do have to resort to a stronger allergy eye medication that we will prescribe from the pharmacy. If there is any discharge that has any color at all you should come on in immediately.

You don’t have to suffer. You do have to live with them if you live in Oklahoma. There are many great things about Oklahoma but this isn’t necessarily one of them. We can deal. We can cease to itch.