It’s that time of year again- your eyes are red and watery, you’re congested, and the itching is terrible. Orlando, Florida isn’t exactly known for taking it easy on allergy sufferers. In fact, we’re one of the most vulnerable cities in the country when it comes to allergies (great weather comes at a price).

Pollen has become the enemy. Luckily, we happen to have a premiere eye allergy ophthalmologist right here in Orlando, Dr. Brian D. Haas.

The cause

Allergies are technically referred to as allergic conjunctivitis, or more commonly, ocular allergy. Eye allergies are caused by an overreaction by your immune system.

When the immune system identifies something, as an allergen, it overreacts and produces an excess of antibodies. Those antibodies then travel to your cells, which release the chemicals that cause the allergic reaction, hence the dark circles under your itchy, dry eyes.

Symptoms

We’ve mentioned a couple of the symptoms, and if you’re reading this, you’re probably all too familiar with them yourself.

Eye allergies can result in:

• itchy or dry eyes
• discharge from the eye
• swelling or darkening under the eye
• congestion
• runny nose
• flakey or red skin

Treatment

Most eye allergy sufferers just stop at the drug store for an over-the-counter antihistamine, but many of those remedies simply mask the symptoms.

To treat the root cause, eye allergy testing may be in order. At Boutique Eye Orlando, we perform what’s known as “scratch testing.” Scratch testing is a very quick and painless procedure that involves superficially scratching the skin, then applying an allergen.

In just 15 minutes, you’ll know which of the 60 allergens we test for is causing your allergy: dust mites, cats, dogs, and many different local pollens. When we know what you’re allergic to, we can plan a much more effective treatment plan.

Plan in place, we’ll provide a treatment kit that will finally free you of your symptoms. That might include over-the-counter solutions, or it may include prescription medication. Either way, you’ll finally know how to treat those pesky allergies Orlando is known for. And next year, you’ll be ready.