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Helen Dandurand (Host): Welcome back to the Well Within Reach podcast. I'm your host, Helen Dandurand. And today, I'm going to be joined by Joanna Lambert, nurse practitioner at Riverside Medical Group's Primary Care East Court Clinic, to discuss everything you need to know about allergies.

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Host: And we're back with nurse practitioner Joanna Lambert. Thank you for joining me today.

Joanna Lambert: Thank you for having me today.

Host: We're glad to have you. And could we just get started? You haven't been on the podcast before. Could you just tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

Joanna Lambert: Absolutely. So, I've been a family nurse practitioner now coming up on 10 years. I've been doing primary care and family setting for the full 10 years that I've been doing this. And before that, I was a labor and delivery nurse, postpartum nurse, nursery nurse for about three years before I became a nurse practitioner.

Host: Awesome. Awesome. Well then, let's just go ahead and jump in on the topic at hand, which is seasonal allergies. What are the typical causes of the seasonal allergies and what are the top allergens you see?

Joanna Lambert: Sure. So, it's going to be pollen from trees, weeds, grasses, and molds. The most common is going to depend on that season. So in the early spring, we're going to see pollen from trees, and it's trees that are indigenous to this area. So, I actually looked it up. But in Illinois, it's going to be pollen from trees such as ash, elm, maple, oak, walnut. Late spring, early summer, you're going to see pollen from grass. So like in this area, it's Bermuda and Timothy grass typically. And then, the most common culprit in the fall is going to be ragweed, which is about August to November in the Midwest and in the East.

Host: I remember when I was a kid going to the doctor and he's like, "It's ragweed."

Joanna Lambert: The most common allergen.

Host: Awesome. And you kind of just said it. But ask again, what times of year are these most prominent? You said like spring and fall, or does it kind of span the gamut?

Joanna Lambert: Sure. If you have seasonal allergies, yes, they're going to be springtime. So, like I said, in the early spring, it's going to be the pollen from the trees followed then shortly right after that, you're going to go into like late spring, early summer, it's going to be the grasses. And then, we come right into the fall where we see the weeds and then also mold during that time.

Host: So, there's not a lot of time of year where we're not experiencing that? The dead of winter.

Joanna Lambert: True. And even then, we have some patients that have allergies. And it's very interesting, because I think it's happening this year, but mild winter temperatures can cause things to start growing earlier. So, you see that season start to come earlier and experiencing these symptoms earlier, especially this year.

Host: Definitely. Yeah, it's been a crazy year with the weather. What symptoms might someone experience with seasonal allergies?

Joanna Lambert: Sure. The most common are going to be congestion, itchy, watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, and coughing.

Host: Okay. Are there some other ones that are less known, but still kind of common that you see or not really? Is that kind of it?

Joanna Lambert: Postnasal drip, which can cause and lead to like a sore throat. The younger the kids are with that postnasal drip, they'll have an upset stomach with it. Those are less common, but we still see them. And a lot of times, we can actually differentiate them with the patient and say, "Hey, you know, these are seasonal allergies still that you're experiencing.

Host: Yeah. And how do they typically differ from knowing if it's a cold? Like how would I know?

Joanna Lambert: Sure. So, you're right. A lot of those symptoms are going to overlap, but it's important to remember the allergies are our body reacting to pollen or molds, where a cold is caused by a virus. So, a lot of the overlapping symptoms are the sneezing, runny nose, nasal congestion, and cough. But with a cold, you're going to get a sore throat on top of that, slight body aches. People say they feel run down, headaches, low grade fevers, and these are temporary. They resolve in seven to ten days. Your symptoms when it comes to allergies, they keep going during allergy season. They're not going away.

Host: Got it. Got it. That totally makes sense. We're going to take a quick break to talk about finding a primary care provider.

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All right. And we are back. So, my next question, I was going to ask, what's kind of the deal with allergy forecasts? Do you think they can help us plan our days when allergies might be worse, that kind of thing?

Joanna Lambert: Absolutely. I loved this question, because I think it takes us into technology and apps right now, but weather apps. Like I have WeatherBug on my phone, and I actually have it programmed to give me alerts when we have high pollen counts in this area to help me with my patients that come into the office so I can sit down with them and say, "Hey, guess what? This is why you're experiencing this today." We also in the primary care setting, we have the ability to run like a respiratory allergy panel on our patients. So, we can pick out the allergens that the pollen that you're specifically allergic to, and I highlight them for my patient and let them know, "Hey, when you hear about the high pollen counts from these particular trees, weeds, grasses, you know you're going to have a rough day that day.

Host: That's cool. That makes sense. Yeah. That's awesome. And being able to have it just right there at your fingertips as a provider and then also at a patient's fingertips to work together. That's really cool. What kind of over-the-counter medications can someone take to alleviate these symptoms?

Joanna Lambert: Okay, most common are going to be your antihistamines, second generation. So, those are the non drowsy antihistamines. Zyrtec, Allegra, and Claritin are the most common. And then, you're going to also want to do a steroid nasal spray, especially if congestion is one of those biggest complaints that you have. Nasonex are both over-the-counter as well. And I always tell my patients, those two together are going to give you the best symptom relief, and you really need to take them consistently on a daily base, not an as needed base, to get that complete symptom relief.

Host: Huh, I didn't know that. That's a good tip.

Joanna Lambert: Yes. I mean, honestly, allergy specialists will tell you,, if you know you have spring allergies, you start taking those two things two weeks before you even get into the season.

Host: I think that's the greatest nugget. That's going to be the nugget of this podcast that you should take away. Okay. So aside from those type of things, are there any natural herbs or things like that some people talk about that help with allergy symptoms?

Joanna Lambert: Yes. I have patients that come in and they go to the local natural wellness store and pick up those. And I tell my patients this, if you take it and you get symptom relief, keep taking it. That's fine. I know honey is a very common one and I personally like it too for colds, for even allergy relief. And the other thing I'll tell my patients about too that I think is underused, especially if you have congestion that's kind of keeping you up or you can't breathe, is the saline nasal rinse. It's like the Neti Pot and they have other ways you can administer it, but it really helps clean out those sinuses.

Host: Great, great. And so with all of that, you kind of take those things, but at what point should someone go to their primary care provider about their allergies?

Joanna Lambert: Sure. Honestly, if you feel like you're always, "getting sick," I think it's time for you to see, you know, your primary care provider, because then we can really figure out, is are you getting sick, or is this something that you're just environmentally exposed to certain other allergens? You know, we talked about the most common seasonal allergy, but there are other environmental allergens that we are exposed to year round and could be causing these symptoms. And then, like I mentioned earlier in the podcast, we can run a respiratory panel, an environmental panel, and really figure out and weed out what is causing these symptoms.

Host: Right. So if it's something that keeps happening and happening, it's best to just go check it out, see what it is, so then you're better equipped to handle it as it comes.

Joanna Lambert: Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. Or you know that you have to stay on Claritin and your Flonase year-round.

Host: Right. Right. But at least you know, and you know what causes it. So, you can be on the lookout. That's awesome. Is there anything else you want to add today?

Joanna Lambert: No. Thanks for having me. This was fun.

Host: Of course. Of course. Thank you so much for being here. And thank you, listeners, for tuning in to the Well Within Reach podcast, brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. For more information, visit riversidehealthcare.org.