How to Handle Your Summer Allergies
Allergies can make you miserable. With itchy eyes, a runny nose, sneezing and congestion, enjoying yourself during beautiful summer months can be difficult. Try these simple tips to keep your summer allergies under control and have fun this summer!
Keep Indoor Air Clean
Unfortunately, there isn’t a product that can magically eliminate all allergens in your home. However, when using the air conditioning in the house or car regularly, changing the air filters and keeping the indoor air dry with a dehumidifier can greatly help.
Reduce Exposure
Try and reduce your exposure to things that can activate your allergies like staying indoors on dry or windy days. Understanding that spending all summer indoors is impossible, plan ahead and look at local weather or pollen levels.
If outside chores are calling your name, either wear a pollen mask or delegate the chores like lawn mowing or weed pulling. After outdoor chores or activities, remove the clothes you wore outside and shower to remove all the pollen from your hair and skin.
Rinses Those Sinuses
Rinsing your sinuses, or nasal irrigation, is a beneficial way to relieve symptoms for those who struggle with allergies or just general nasal congestion. Nasal irrigation is flushing out your nasal cavity with a saline solution. The solution is a simple mixture of purified water and salt, used in combination with a squeeze bottle or a neti pot. Directly rinsing your sinuses or nasal passages will flushes out mucus and allergens in your nose.
Over-the-counter remedy
If the tips above aren’t cutting it, there are several types of nonprescription medications that can alleviate your allergy symptoms.
- Oral antihistamines can help relieve sneezing, itching, a runny nose and watery eyes
- Decongestants, such as pseudoephedrine, can provide temporary relief from nasal stuffiness
- Nasal spray can ease allergy symptoms and doesn’t have serious side effects, though it’s most effective when you begin using it before your symptoms start
Consult a Doctor
For some, taking precaution or using over-the-counter medications isn’t enough to alleviate their allergy symptoms. So, consult your doctor to determine the best course of action for your allergies, whether they are seasonal or year around.
For more information on all Rhinology questions or to schedule an appointment with one of our physicians, please visit https://nevada-ent.com/ or call 775.322.4589.
Summer; the best time for outdoor activities like swimming, live concerts, fireworks and even yard work. To get the most out of your summer but also to protect your hearing, here are some preventative measures to keep in mind during these summer activates.
Live Concerts
Outdoors concerts are the best during the summer but can be just as harmful because of the high volume of decibels during the concerts.
Decibels are a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound or the power level of an electrical signal by comparing it with a given level on a logarithmic scale.
The typical person can generally accept 85 decibels for a maximum of eight hours a day, followed by at least a couple hours of recovery time. Most live concerts are at a volume of 100 to 110 decibels which decrease the length of exposure time.
There are two options for all concert goers, placing oneself as far away from speakers as possible or wearing ear plugs. Earplugs can decrease the noise by 20 to 30 decibels.
Both are good options to avoid ringing in the ears after the concert has ended.
Fireworks
Between Fourth of July, baseball games and local events, fireworks are a staple during the summertime. Although fireworks produce between 140-150 decibels, they generally do not cause problems because the explosions are short-lived and happen in the sky.
However, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Keeping your distance, around 500 feet, is an easy way to still enjoy the beautiful show but also keep your hearing safe.
Using earplugs is an inexpensive and efficient way to protect your hearing. Various types of earplugs are able to reduce different level of decibels.
Water Activities
The best way to cool off can also be the most common cause of ear trouble during the summer. Swimming in any type of water can cause water to get trapped in the middle ear.
The middle ear is the part between the eardrum and the oval window. It transmits sound from the outer ear to the inner ear. Getting water trapped in the middle ear can cause an infection to develop.
Wearing earplugs or custom-molded ones can prevent trouble or pain.
Outdoor Equipment
Equipment like lawnmowers and weed whackers can produce up to 100 decibels so wearing earplugs is a key protective measure. Some people prefer to listen to music through headphones while doing yard work, this isn’t the same as using earplugs and can be harmful.
Listening to music requires the music to be louder and drown out the sound of the equipment.
Be aware of your proximity to the loud sound and remember to use ear plugs if you need to. There are a variety of earplugs that are best for different types of activities including swimming and attending concerts.
For more information on all Otology questions or to schedule an appointment with one of our physicians, please visit https://nevada-ent.com/ or call 775.322.4589.
We’d like to congratulate our very own Dr. Van Duyne for competing in the 14th Annual Reno-Tahoe Odyssey. Dr. Van Duyne and the rest of “Outrunning 50” won and set a new record for the Senior Women division.
Congratulations to Dr. Van Duyne who participated!
Septal deviation is a common condition, with a significant portion of the population having their septum deviate to one side or the other. Commonly some degree of nasal trauma may cause a deviated septum. Many people are asymptomatic from this, however a few can have nasal obstruction symptoms on the side that is deviated. In these patients, septoplasty (i.e straightening the septum), can be performed. It is usually an outpatient procedure, performed under general anesthesia. After the operation, the patient can breathe better on the affected side. If the deviated septum is more posteriorly placed, endoscopic septoplasty is a good option for the patient. This approach can be done without packing or splints afterwards, and the recovery is easier. Commonly an inferior turbinoplasty is performed concurrently because the turbinates can be swollen due to allergies, or to compensate for the extra space on the non deviated side.
Josh Meier, M.D. F.A.R.S
Like many surgical procedures, septoplasty may sound like a foreign and complicated procedure. However, it addresses a rather ordinary issue — nasal obstruction. If nasal obstruction has been a debilitating issue for you, septoplasty may be the right solution. If you experience nasal obstruction or are considering a septoplasty, here is what you need to know.
Nasal obstruction can occur for a variety of reasons. When the cause is the nasal septum, your doctor may suggest a septoplasty to correct it. The nasal septum is made up of both cartilage and bone, and divides the nose into left and right sides. It is covered with a thin membrane known as the mucosa, which functions like a layer of skin — it protects the cartilage and bone, and keeps the inside of the nose moist. If you have a deviated septum, this simply means that your septum is crooked. However, a deviated septum can easily obstruct airflow, blocking one or both nasal passages.
To determine the cause of nasal obstruction, your doctor will sometimes perform a nasal endoscopy. An endoscope is a thin, flexible device equipped with a tiny camera and a light. In this case, it is inserted into the nose, projecting a magnified image onto a screen. An endoscopy is often enough to diagnose the problem. A CT scan can also be used, but is not usually necessary.
If your doctor determines that a deviated septum is the cause of your nasal obstruction, then septoplasty can correct the deviation and improve airflow. This is the most common reason for septoplasty. A septoplasty can also be part of a larger operation, such as sinus surgery or nasal tumor removal, but this is less likely.
Septoplasty is generally performed on an outpatient basis; this means you come in and go home on the same day. The surgery is done in an operating room, under general anesthesia, unless you and your doctor have determined that local anesthesia is a better option. During the surgery itself, your doctor will attempt to straighten the deviated, or crooked, cartilage and bone. This requires the mucosa, or the inner “skin,” to be lifted off that cartilage and bone so that it can be reshaped, or in some cases, removed. Once the septum is reshaped and/or parts are removed, the lining is laid back down, and the surgery is complete.
After surgery, you can expect splints or packing inside your nose, or possibly dissolvable stitches. There may also be some swelling and/or draining of fluid. During recovery, you may have nasal stuffiness, and your doctor might want you to use a saline spray or irrigation, but overall, the pain should be mild. Most symptoms clear up in the first week, and then you can look forward to breathing easy.
Sources: http://care.american-rhinologic.org/septoplasty_turbinates
http://care.american-rhinologic.org/nasal_endoscopy
Hearing loss and dementia seem unrelated to the majority of us. Aside from the fact that they both accompany aging, one has to do with one’s ears, and the other has to do with one’s brain.
However, multiple studies have shown they are actually closely related. In the latest study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin, cognitively healthy adults in their fifties and sixties who had been diagnosed with hearing loss were shown to face double the risk of developing dementia within five years.
Other studies have shown that risk of dementia increases as hearing loss increases. According to a study by a researcher at Johns Hopkins, mild, moderate, and severe hearing loss made the odds of dementia two, three, and five times higher in the next decade or more, respectively. What’s more, cognitive impairment seems to occur faster in those who have hearing loss. Older adults with hearing loss experienced mental decline an average of 30-40 percent faster.
This correlation affects many of us. Hearing loss is a common ailment in late middle age. At age 65, about one in three adults experiences hearing loss. For adults over 70, two in three have some degree of hearing loss. Dementia is slightly less common, but still prevalent — about one in three Americans will die with some form of dementia.
Why is this the case? We don’t yet know. One possibility is that a brain pathology we’re not aware of is responsible for both symptoms. Another potential reason is that hearing loss causes social isolation. When individuals are no longer able to interact with their surroundings as much as they used to, their brains deteriorate. A third theory is that because hearing is responsible for a fair amount of brain stimulation, the loss of hearing stimuli leads the brain’s functioning to weaken overall. It’s also possible that having to decode noise continually puts too much strain on the mind, leaving it weak and vulnerable to degeneration.
Protect your hearing early in life by limiting your exposure to loud noise. At 90 decibels of uninterrupted sound, the limit of safe noise exposure is eight hours. For each six decibels increase of uninterrupted sound thereafter, the limit of safe exposure is reduced by half.
Also, be on the lookout for symptoms such as excessive ear wax, repeated ear infection, pain, itching, ringing or sudden hearing loss. If you have any of these symptoms, see an otolaryngologist as soon as possible. Ear damage can worsen over time when the issue causing it remains unresolved.
If you already have hearing loss, speak with your otolaryngologist to see what treatment is ideal for your situation. Don’t put off buying a hearing aid if it means you can’t follow along with your friends’ and family’s conversations. Stay social and keep your brain engaged. Additionally, follow a healthy diet and exercise program — the healthier you are overall, the healthier your mind is likely to be.
Sources:
https://www.hear-it.org/hearing-loss-and-dementia
https://www.hear-it.org/why-there-link-between-hearing-loss-and-dementia
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/jul/17/hearing-loss-could-pose-greater-risk-of-potential-dementia-in-later-life-study
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/802291
https://bhsl.wiscweb.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/114/2017/07/TFields_AAIC2017_final.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5527366/
https://www.alz.org/facts/
https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/hearing-loss-dementia#1
http://www.hearingloss.org/content/basic-facts-about-hearing-loss
The use of neti pots and similar methods of irrigating the nasal cavity is an old homeopathic remedy for sinus pressure and high levels of sinus mucus. Though the neti pot stems from ancient Indian Ayurvedic hygiene and wellness practices, doctors have recently been paying more attention to the method. What they have found is that it is both a safe and effective method for clearing the sinuses of mucus, and may also help to reduce inflammation by flushing small, irritation-causing particles out of the sinuses, as well as viruses and bacteria.
Usually a nasal rinse is some form of saline concentration. It is recommended that patients use an isotonic concentration, or a concentration that has saline levels similar to those in the human body. Patients can either purchase premixed salt packets for this or make their own at home. One common recipe calls for 2-3 teaspoons of iodine-free salt and 1/4-1/2 teaspoons of baking soda for one liter of sterile water. Including a small amount of baking soda in the rinse has been shown to yield better results than saline alone. Some patients prefer higher levels of saline concentration, but studies have shown that this can damage the nose’s cilia. Cilia are small, waving hairs that keep the nose clean. Increased salt levels in your nasal rinse can lead to increased nasal congestion and nasal swelling.
It is very important when flushing your nasal cavities that you use sterile water. Boiled, distilled, or well-filtered water are recommended. Do not use water from a wild or questionable source without appropriate filtration and sterilization. In very rare instances, amoeba present in a municipal water source has caused encephalitis in neti pot users. Encephalitis is a deadly brain infection. It is not common to find such amoeba outside of untreated water supplies, but the results are serious, so use caution and ensure your water is safe before using it in your sinuses.
In addition to sterile water, it is also important to use sterile equipment. To sterilize the bottle you are using, microwave it for two minutes in cold water. One study found this method more effective than a boiling water rinse. Using Milton’s antibacterial solution was also found to be an effective sterilization method.
Ideally, an effective nasal rinse will reach as much of the nasal lining as possible. There are a couple of factors in application that may improve the rinse’s effectiveness. First, when applying the rinse, place your head down. This can help the irrigation reach the top of the nose and forehead sinus. Second, a high volume of delivery tends to be more effective than a lower volume of delivery. The increased volume tends to result in the optimal coverage of the nasal lining.
There are a couple of treatments that can work in conjunction with nasal rinsing to improve patient results. One is sinus surgery. If there are nasal blockages present, surgery can lead to improved delivery and effectiveness of a nasal rinse. Another is medicated irrigation. In patients with chronic sinusitis who were using topical antibiotics or nasal steroid sprays, high volume rinses with diluted steroids improved their symptoms.
If you are having nasal issues, please call and make an appointment with one of the specialists at Nevada ENT and the Reno Tahoe Sinus Center. We can help determine the source of your symptoms and give you information on treatment options individually tailored to your circumstances.
Source: Nasal/Sinus Irrigation by Benjamin S. Bleier, MD
http://care.american-rhinologic.org/irrigation
