When summer rolls around and the allergy-prone are suffering, area allergy specialists are happy to share the ways folks can fight the effects of allergy irritation.

Allergies affect more than 50 million Americans every year and cost $18 billion in annual health care costs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Stephen Froman specializes in ear, nose and throat health with a strong interest in the treatment and management of allergies with ENT & Allergy Specialists of Western Pennsylvania. He said many of his patients struggle with allergies throughout the year.

Froman explained how serious of an impact allergies can have on the life of a patient.

“Allergies don’t kill most people. They are just extremely annoying depending upon how severe your symptoms are,” he said. “But they really can’t be belittled. Studies have shown that people with allergies, significant inhalant allergies, have significantly lower performance levels at work (and) have significantly more missed time than patients with many other diseases. It’s really surprising when you look at studies how allergies can affect people in their everyday life as far as their moods and their effectiveness in the workplace.”

For those with asthma or other pulmonary diseases and disorders, the effect can be even more pronounced.

Froman recommends three ways for patients to try and deal with allergies:

n Environmental controls and avoidance measures.

n Medicine and allergy testing

n Immunotherapy shots.

Patients should go through this list in that order and only move on to the next phase if they are sure the current treatment is not working.

First, try to avoid situations where allergy irritants are prevalent.

“When pollen counts are really high, staying inside with air conditioning helps,” Froman said.

Other methods can include wearing masks outside, using air filtration systems or reducing your exposure to pets, rugs or stuffed animals.

One thing Froman said people often don’t realize is the impact dust mites can have on allergies and health.

“People don’t like to hear it, but dust mites are most commonly found in their bedding,” he said. “They create a lot of droppings, and those droppings are what people become allergic to.”

Those found to have a severe dust mite allergy can buy special covers for their pillows and mattress that reduce the number of dust mites in their bedding.

For those concerned about allergies and area pollination, Froman recommends looking up the pollen report that lists the pollination in the air.

“I checked the pollen report, which nowadays people can just check on their cellphones,” Froman said. “Mold is actually the highest inhalant in the air right now. The mold levels will go up whenever there’s a lot of moisture in the air.”

This helps folks make an educated guess as to what it is they may be reacting to.

If avoidance doesn’t work, patients can then move on to medicine.

Most medicines are over-the-counter antihistamines, Froman said.

“There are also anti-allergy nasal sprays,” he said. “There are many of them over the counter and they’re all equally effective.”

If all else fails, the final phase is allergy treatments and immunotherapy shots.

“Then and only then do we recommend allergy testing,” Froman said.

Doctors test patients’ blood to identify what specifically is causing the allergy and then gives them allergy immunotherapy shots to build the patient’s immune system against the substance.

This takes a while, Froman said, and he requires his patients who go this route to commit to at least a year of treatment.

For some, allergies can be so severe that even this does not cure them.

“Worst case scenario if the patient’s allergies are that severe, we actually have patients who have to use all three methods of therapy,” Froman said.