Are you sniffling and sneezing your way through another spring with no clear reason why? Have you noticed hives or rashes since you started visiting friends with cats? It may be time to visit an allergist. At some point you’ll probably wonder if you have an allergy. You may even know that anti-histamines or over the counter allergy medications help. But you still don’t know for sure. Here are three reasons it may be time to visit the allergist.

Over-the-Counter medications aren’t helping and your sneezing and water eyes aren’t caused by a cold. If you’re experiencing sneezing, a runny nose, water eyes, or itchy mouth or skin, it may well be caused by an allergy. Over active immune systems view some pollens and foreign substances like pet dander as dangerous. As your body tries to fight the “dangerous” substance, you will experience inflammation, sneezing, a runny nose and more.

You’ve just moved to a new area and are suddenly experiencing allergy-like symptoms. It’s possible your body may not have viewed any substances in your previous location as a threat. Yet, if you’ve just moved to Central Texas you may find yourself with a winter full of sneezing and watery eyes. Mountain Cedar pollen is highly allergenic and though you may have no known allergies, if you find yourself experiencing symptoms, it’s time to visit an allergist.

Finally, if you think your child may have a food allergy, it’s important to visit with an allergist as soon as possible. If you notice any hives or rashes after your child tries a fruit, eggs, seafood, soy, dairy, or nuts for the first, or one of the first times this can be a sign of a potential allergy. For more symptoms and signs of a food allergy, click here.

We hope these three reasons it might be time to visit the allergist can help you decide if now is the time to make an appointment with us!