South Jersey Sun

• Allergy symptoms include sneezing, a stuffy or runny nose, watery eyes and an itchy nose, eyes, or mouth.

• Inflammation is a common cause of allergy symptoms.

• Potential allergy treatments include over-the-counter medications, nasal sprays and immunotherapy,.

Inflammation could be the cause of your allergy symptoms, according to Dr. Nicola DeLorio of Accent Sinus Center & Head & Neck Group.

"They're very intimately related," DeLorio told the South Jersey Sun. "A large portion of people with allergies do develop chronic sinusitis, and people with chronic sinusitis typically have allergies. It may not be all of them, but it is imperative that anybody with chronic sinus issues be tested for allergies and their allergies be managed. There's no procedure that's going to work well for that patient if they're not also managing their allergy issues."

More than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies every year, and allergies are the sixth-most -common cause of chronic illness in the U.S., according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever, can be either seasonal or perennial and can cause sneezing, a stuffy or runny nose, watery eyes, and an itchy nose, eyes or mouth.

In adults, chronic sinusitis is often linked to nasal swelling caused by allergies, especially allergies to inhaled dust, mold, pollen or the spores of fungi, according to Harvard Medical School. 

Allergy symptoms, such as itchy eyes, can be cause by inflammation, which is a result of the body attempting to protect itself from allergens, according to MBG Health. When someone is exposed to an allergen, the body's natural stress response is to secrete hormones such as cortisol and chemicals like histamine, but studies have shown that those secretions can lead to inflammation, which in turn makes allergy symptoms, as well as asthma, even worse.

Depending on the type and severity of your allergies, your doctor could recommend various treatment options, according to Mayo Clinic. Some treatments options are over-the-counter medications, nasal sprays, immunotherapy or -- for very severe allergies -- carrying an emergency epinephrine shot, such as an EpiPen.                   

Accent Sinus Center & Head & Neck Group offers a Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz to evaluate your sinus symptoms.