What are fall allergies and how to deal with them

With fall right around the corner, it's that time of year when seasonal allergies can start giving people problems.

In today's Moves in Medicine, we get some expert advice from the folks at Temple Health.

The symptoms can be very mild all the way to very severe. Either way make sure you are getting the best help to breathe better.

As the weather turns cooler so come fall allergies.

It's a particularly tough time of year for 63-year-old Maria Sanchez of North Philadelphia.

"I've had allergies all my life, asthma as well," she said.

She says keeping her allergies at bay helps keep her asthma in check.

"Once I get the allergies, I catch a little sinusitis and stuffy nose, then I get the nasal drip and then all of a sudden my asthma starts flaring up," she said.

So what is irritating us in the fall?

"We do see pollen, ragweed, some mold and some dust mites usually," said Eileen Mumm, a pulmonary nurse practitioner at Temple Health.

Mumm says symptoms can vary greatly.

"Symptoms can be mild. They can be anywhere from nasal symptoms, ear, mouth, stomach and then you can also have some more severe conditions that would be affecting patient's asthma or in a very severe case anaphylaxis," she said.

Treatments can also vary from at-home remedies to over the counter medication, inhalers, prescriptions and even steroids. The idea is to get a treatment plan in place as soon as you can. And remember you can develop allergies at any age.

"You can be desensitized to something for a number of years and then all of a sudden you just start getting symptoms," said Mumm.

For Sanchez her relief came about five years ago, when her doctor started her on an injectable medication she gets every two weeks.

"I started as a trier and it has worked well. I mean like literally like my life depends on it," she said.

Temple Health says it doesn't matter what type of fall we have whether it's warm or cold, the pollen and ragweed are still there until everything dies out in winter.