CEimpact Podcast

Help Patients Navigate Seasonal Allergies

Share episode

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 29:59

Seasonal allergies affect millions of patients each year and are a common reason individuals seek guidance from pharmacists for symptom relief and product selection. This course reviews the pathophysiology, common symptoms, and current management strategies for seasonal allergies, with a focus on over-the-counter treatment options and patient counseling considerations. You will strengthen your ability to recommend evidence-based therapies, differentiate treatment options, and support patients in managing seasonal allergy symptoms effectively.

HOST
Rachel Maynard, PharmD
GameChangers Podcast Host and Clinical Editor, CEimpact
Lead Editor, Pyrls

Tyler Kiles, PharmD, MPH, BC-ADM
Clinical Associate Professor
The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy

GET CE FOR LISTENING!
Stay Compliant. Grow Clinically. Practice with Confidence. 

Pharmacist CE Subscription: All your CE in one convenient subscription.
All episodes, CE, and Practice Resources for the GameChangers Clinical Update is included with your Pharmacist CE Subscription. But wait…there’s even more!

The Pharmacist CE Subscription includes: 
-  Compliance and licensure CE 
-  GameChangers Clinical Updates
-  Practical continuing education across patient care topics 

*The subscription does not include microcredentials or certificates, which are available separately for pharmacists seeking specialized service training. 

Purchase Now!



PRACTICE RESOURCE
Receive the exclusive Practice Resource to use as a reference guide for this episode by purchasing the Pharmacist CE Subscription.

 
CPE REDEMPTION
This course is accredited for continuing pharmacy education! Click the link below that applies to you to take the exam and evaluation to claim credit:


CPE INFORMATION
Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this knowledge-based activity, participants should be able to:
1. Describe the pathophysiology, common symptoms, and underlying causes of seasonal allergic rhinitis.

2. Compare pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment options for seasonal allergies, including considerations for safe and effective use in patient care.

Rachel Maynard and Tyler Kiles have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

0.05 CEU/0.5 Hr
UAN: 0107-0000-26-155-H01-P
Initial release date: 4/27/2026
Expiration date: 4/27/2027
Additional CPE details can be found here.

Follow CEimpact on Social Media:
LinkedIn
Instagram

Welcome And CE Credit

SPEAKER_00

Here on Game Changers, we're all about helping you stay ahead of pharmacy practice. But why stop it listening? You can earn CE credit for this episode and hundreds more by visiting CEimpact.com and logging into your account or creating a new one. Get credit, get inspired, and make your learning count. Hey CE Impact subscribers! Welcome to the Game Changers Clinical Update Podcast. I'm your host, Rachel Maynard. Today we're going to be talking about a topic that's coming up probably regularly in your practice or personal life these days, and that's seasonal allergies. It's because we're in the height of spring allergy season. Millions of patients suffer from seasonal allergies every year, which often brings them to us as pharmacists for advice about how to manage symptoms. But the maze of options over the counter often raises questions about which products are preferred over others. So today we'll get a little refresher on how to tell when a patient is suffering from seasonal allergies and how to manage those allergy symptoms, including where the different treatment options fit in. So I'm very excited to welcome our guest today, Dr. Tyler Kyles, to share her expertise and best practices in this area. So welcome, Tyler. Hi, thanks for having me. Very excited to have you here. And I know you've got lots of practical experience in this area. So if you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit about your background and your current role and why you're interested in this topic.

SPEAKER_01

Sure. Yes. I currently do not have a practice site. I'm full-time faculty here at the University of Texas at Austin. But my background is in community pharmacy. I completed a community-based P2I1 and worked in the community pharmacy and ambulatory care space for a while. But I currently coordinate the self-care and over-the-counter pharmacotherapy course here. And also am involved in the Skills Lab setting where our students get to practice counseling patients on these products as well. And I'm also a longtime perpetual allergy sufferer. I'm lucky enough to have both outdoor and indoor allergies. So I'm very familiar with a lot of these products personally as well.

SPEAKER_00

Gotcha. Yeah. And I think a lot of our listeners probably can speak to that as well, myself included. So it's good to have your own personal expertise to bring to this too. So thanks for that background. And thank you for taking the time to chat with us today. I know this will be a good discussion to again just I feel like new questions come up every year about seasonal allergies. So it'll always be good to just make sure we're on the same page going forward. And to that end, maybe you can share a little bit of background just to remind us around what the causes are of seasonal allergies, the triggers, sort of the pathophysiology, and how that translates into some of the common symptoms with seasonal allergies.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So allergies are really just your immune system kind of overreacting to things that are harmless. So typically it's things like pollen or pet dander, whatever the allergen may be, is usually something that's not actively trying to attack your immune system, but your immune system sort of responds like it's a threat. And so your body kind of activates the immunoglobulin or IgE response, which activates the histamine pathway. So most of the symptoms that we see with allergens are related to the effects of histamine. So common symptoms include like runny nose, congestion, sneezing, sometimes fatigue if your allergies get really severe and your immune system's really stimulated. But the most common cause of like seasonal allergies is actually poll that come from plants. And different plants release their poll at different times of the year. And so some people may have allergies only during one season if they're really sensitive to certain allergens, or they may have them year-round with different allergens throughout the year. I can go into a little more detail about like what's typically seen different times of year, or if you want to go a different direction.

Pollen Seasons And Climate Shifts

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, sure. I yeah, I think that's a good reminder too, because people may be wondering well, what is spring? Is that ragweed? Is it tree? And you did touch on also how some people have year-round allergies too, to things like dust mites or dander, for example. So that's that's another sort of thing to be thinking about when talking with patients. But yeah, let's talk a little bit more about the the common triggers depending on the time of year. And and you know, along those lines too, I've been seeing some things related to how weather changes and environmental changes are leading to maybe more severe or frequent allergies. So maybe you can speak to that too a little bit.

SPEAKER_01

Sure, definitely. So here in Austin, we are I that's I've seen online different people calling themselves the allergy capital of the US, but I personally feel like Austin is definitely in the running. We suffer in the spring. So really late December through February, and even kind of lingering into March, we have a phenomenon called cedar fever. And that is due to the, it's actually they they call it a mountain cedar tree that's really popular here. Um, but so in the springtime, most pollen is related to tree pollen. So whether that's cedar trees, oak trees, sometimes birch trees, depending on different regions of the US, that's most likely what's being aggravated at this time. It makes it really confusing because you know, differentiating between cedar fever and you know, the flu or COVID can be really challenging because uh there's a lot of overlap in those, that prevalence as well. But in the springtime, late winter, early spring is usually tree pollen. Later on into the summer, those are usually grasses. So if you have summer allergy, that's usually caused by grass. And in the fall, so more like sometimes starting as early as August through the beginning of the winter. So through October, usually is more of weed. So usually ragweed is really common towards the fall as well. So if you're curious about what might be aggravating you, checking the pollen counts for those specific things is a good place to start. But like you mentioned, climate change is really causing some changes in this area. Kind of overall, the length of the allergy season for each of these has been extended. So allergies are starting earlier and lasting longer than they have historically. And that's due to a lot of things. So climate change can cause temperatures to rise, or it can cause more rainfall or less rainfall. And that really affects the life cycles of these plants. And so, for example, for us for cedar fever here in Austin, we had a really dry summer. Um, and that allowed the, it was a pretty dry summer that allowed the plants to grow. And then when the winter came, it was a pretty light winter, light rainfall in the winter, but that really just caused them, the plants to proliferate and have really severe symptoms that are that are getting worse with time as well. Um thing I was going to add is that the there are things with climate change where the natural habitat of plants is also expanding. So because areas are getting warmer or having wetter seasons, places that have have not typically had, you know, ragweed or oak, for example, maybe seeing those allergens in their environments now.

SPEAKER_00

Got it. Yeah, yeah. I think it's really interesting. I I have seen anecdotally and heard people complaining more about symptoms and the symptoms being maybe being more severe, but also happening at different times than maybe they were used to in the past, or if they've never had allergies in the past and maybe they do now. Like all of these sorts of changes are seemingly more frequent than I've heard in the past. So uh interesting to hear you speak a little bit about some of the environmental effects that may be contributing to that. And also, really good point and interesting your experience around the cedar fever. Is that what you see cedar fever and how that overlaps with winter sort of respiratory season, well, not winter, but early very early in the year and and respiratory season potentially, and how that can make it difficult to assess what's going on. So maybe you can talk a little about that a little bit, how you would help differentiate if a patient is suffering from allergies versus something like a cold or flu or some sort of respiratory condition.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, definitely. The first thing I would ask a patient is if they're having a true fever. So even though we call it cedar fever, it usually doesn't cause an elevated temperature. It just is like a feeling of warmth and discomfort. So if they've measured and caught an actual fever, then that's probably more likely, something like a colder flu. Another thing I would ask for is whether or not the patient is experiencing any itchiness. So itchy eyes, itchy nose, wateriness is usually more commonly associated with allergies than cough colds and flu, even though it can occur as well. Congestion is one of those that can be seen kind of with any of these conditions. So it's not a very good differentiator, but I'm trying to think if there's anything else. Oh, with colds and flu, a lot of times people may feel more like tired and more of those body aches as well. So those are some things that can help differentiate as well.

Prevention Without Medication

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I think the itchiness is often what I think of too itchy, watery nose, eyes, throat. The itchiness is a a good sort of cardinal symptom to think of. And then as you said, the fever and ruling that in or out is also a good sort of delineator of what path you might be going down. But it can be tricky. I guess it also depends too on how prolonged the symptoms are, expecting a colder flu to sort of resolve within a week or two, whereas this might be a more persistent sort of problem for patients. But so I think once we've sort of determined that the patient has seasonal allergies, what would then be the next steps in terms of both prevention and treatment? And so we have sort of two buckets, the prevention and treatment considerations, and then also the non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic treatment considerations. So let's think about I think the prevention angle is important because that's something that some people may be able to prevent symptoms before they even occur. So could you speak to that a little bit?

SPEAKER_01

Sure, definitely. So from a non-farm preventative perspective, I definitely think there's a lot of stuff that people can actually do to help with their allergies that does not include medications. One of the things that people don't think about is that we often bring allergens into our home through opening the door, opening windows. So making sure that the doors and windows stay closed during the spring months, even though sometimes, you know, we are excited that the weather is warming up and we want to open everything up, being aware of kind of the home environment is one way to really reduce or some of the symptoms that we feel. Also using things like HEPA filters or air filters within the home environment as well to just reduce the exposure overall. I've also seen a lot of newer suggestions to rinse your nose with nasal saline or with some of our, there's some saline nasal sprays when you have spent time outdoors. So when you come inside, just a quick rinse, quick rinse of the nose, maybe something that could prevent you from developing this cascade of symptoms as well. So there are lots of things that we can do without even doing medications that can prevent severe symptoms. There's also on the preventative side with medications. One thing I really wanted to point out is that if you know that, you know, their allergies get really bad in the summer or in the winter or sorry, in the fall, then you can prepare with some of the medications a couple weeks ahead of time of when you would normally expect it. And that may prevent some symptoms from from getting really bad as well.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, so let's get into that a little bit more. I do want to just recap what you shared because I think they're really important points about reminding ourselves that even though the weather is turning nice, and as you say, we want to get exposed to some of that nice warm temperature, sometimes that open up opening up those windows can let those allergens in and increase the risk for symptoms. Uh, also reminding people as they're coming in and uh washing clothes, taking off clothes, maybe taking a shower before you go to bed. So those allergens aren't necessarily coming to bed with you and then you're sleeping in it. Great points to bring up. And and you mentioned earlier actually the pollen counts and just being aware of that too. That's a nice tool that I think people can be looking at to see how bad is it today? What how what do I need to be thinking about? But yeah, and then those ceiling rinses, I think that's in the netty pots too is a popular feature, I think, that more and more people are using, but just making sure that people are using those properly and using boiled water and not rehearsal with that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. One thing I forgot to mention and something that, you know, as a perennial allergy sufferer, I was reminded by my physician actually was I have a pet who also goes outside and you know, walks around. And so being mindful of wiping her down because she's all over the couch in the garden as well, um, is another, again, just sort of pro tip if you're trying to prevent allergies.

First Line OTC Treatments Explained

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, absolutely. Great reminder. Okay, so let's talk about now. You mentioned some of the medications that we think about for managing allergy symptoms, pharmacologic options, can be used ahead of allergy season if you know that's when you typically get symptoms. So let's talk about that a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so there's basically three kind of broad classes of our anti-allergy medications. You have your uh intranasal corticosteroids, your antihistamines, and then your decongestions. Your intranasal corticosteroids, uh, so these are things like flonase or fluticazone, rhinocort, which is budecinide, and nasocort, which is triumphenolone. These are kind of they're the best in show, honestly, with dealing with all of the allergy symptoms. They can help with the itchy wateriness, they can help with congestion, um, and they're really effective at managing allergy symptoms. They do take a little bit of time to kick in or start working. So they're not something that we use for necessarily immediate relief, but but they can be used daily for, you know, months at a time pretty safely as well. So our intranasal corticosteroids are really should be first line for a lot of patients. Um, but I'll be honest, I was not into it. I just didn't want to spray things up my nose. And so I was a big fan of the antihistamines for a long time. So most of these are available orally. There's actually an intranasal antihistamine available over the counter now. That's that's becoming my new favorite. We can talk about that a little bit. Um, but with our antihistamines, um, we have our first generation antihistamines like your diphenhydramine and chlorphiramine, uh, sorry, chlorphenuriamine, and then your second generation antihistamines like your loratidine, satirazine, fexafhenidine. And then there's actually the levocirosine, which is the brand name's Eyesol now. They're calling a third generation antihistamine. It causes potentially even less drowsiness than some of your second generation antihistamines. Um, so those are really good options for patients as well, especially if they're not interested in taking a nasal product, but they only really target that itchiness and watery eyes or runny nose. Um, they don't, they're not great for congestion, but they're good for sneezing or some of the other really irritating symptoms of allergies.

SPEAKER_00

Um I think oh sorry, I would just add, I think they're also a benefit there in terms of sort of as needed. So as you say, the intranasal steroids take a can take a few days or a week to work. And so if a patient just wants to have some quick relief and something, maybe just occasional symptoms, then an oral anohistamine could be a good consideration there. Um, and just to dig into those oral anahistamides too, uh you mentioned the first generation and the second third generation potentially. But I where I think we generally want to stick that with is the second, third generation. So the flexophenidine, the subterrazine, loratidine, levoseterosine, those are the ones because you know we know the risks with the first generations. And so yeah, I don't know if you want to clear anything, clarify anything.

SPEAKER_01

Sure, yeah. One thing that I definitely agree, the second generation antihistamines are great for like daily sort of use, management of acute symptoms. The second, sorry, the first generation antihistamines can be used more at nighttime. They can help with sleep as well. Um, and then also chlorphanuri is the only one that is generally recommended as safe in pregnancy. I know that some OBs will say that Zertec and or Loratidine and Cetirazine are also reasonable to take in pregnancy, but chlorphenuri just has the the best, it's kind of like the safest bet.

SPEAKER_00

Um, and I and it really comes down to the patient population that you said. So pregnancy is one consideration, but for older adults, we might not go to a first generation particular for them. So yeah, definitely tailoring based on the patient's situation as well as their symptoms. And, you know, the other thing I find interesting too with the intranasal steroids is that they can help with the eye symptoms as well. So there are certainly, as you uh probably would get to, the eye drops are available for people who have specifically eye symptoms. And I always find it interesting that the intranasal corticosteroids can also help with that too. Yeah. But yeah.

Decongestants And Safety Tradeoffs

SPEAKER_01

They really are pretty, pretty remarkable. And like I said, I was very resistant to actually trying them. I ended up starting with the Flonase Sensi mist, the one that was uh marketed for children, but I think it actually has adult dosing on there as well. I tried that first and then kind of made my way to the steroid, and it's not that bad. And it really helps with all of the symptoms. So I mentioned that I have indoor allergies. I'm really allergic to pet dander. So my my lovely dog is causing me some trouble. But the ocular antihistamines have really, really helped. There's several available over the counter. One used to be only prescription, it was patidae or olopatidine. Um, it's now available over the counter, and it has several different formulations. Um, there's extra strength, there's once a day, there's 12-hour. So there's lots of different options available over the counter for that specifically. And then there's some some oldies but goodies, like your opcon phenyramine, or alloy, which was uh keto tiffin. Those are really great options for kind of you know immediate relief of itchy eyes as well. Um but the intranasal anahistamine, it's azolastine is the only one that I know of available over the counter. Um, but that has really that has really helped. I started using that last year during allergy symptom, allergy season, and I was already trying, you know, an oral anahistamine and an intranasal corticosteroid. Okay. And I ended up using the azolastine kind of for immediate relief. Uh, really at nighttime I was having a hard time and I didn't want to take Benadryl or um diaphenhydramine. So um it it provides kind of pretty immediate relief as well. It it doesn't taste very good. It leaves a nice, it lingers, it stays with you, which is unfortunate, but it's worth it because it can really relieve symptoms.

SPEAKER_00

And I think again, it's it's going to be very patient-specific with those kinds of preferences too, because I know with the intranaso corticosteroids, for example, some may have a bit of a flavor or smell, some may not. And so, but in terms of general efficacy across the class, my understanding is they're they're pretty similar, excuse me. And so it it really comes down to cost, patient preference, frequency of use, how often they they need to be using it. So from a counseling perspective, I always think of helping the patient find maybe what's worked for them in the past or hasn't worked in the past, as you say, or if there's some other preference that comes into play, and then narrowing in from there. But good to be aware of those classes. And then let's touch on the decongestants also. So oral and intranasal decongestants, because I think they play a specific role here too. If, say, a person isn't using a nasal corticosteroid and they need that more immediate nasal relief.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, definitely. So the best product in the decongestant class is actually pseudoephedrin, so behind the counter, but we know that that also can impact blood pressure. So patients who have uncontrolled blood pressure or at risk for other cardiovascular things, we wouldn't necessarily recommend that they take that regularly. But like you said, for quick relief of congestion. And they also have some 12-hour and 24-hour products available. There's a lot of combinations as well. I like some of the products that have a like an NSAID and pseudoephedrin. I feel like that really helps with the inflammation in the nasal passageways as well. And there's also sprays and intranasal decongestants, like your afferin or oxymetazoline. And again, those work kind of immediately, but they have their own side effects. They have, you know, rebound congestion if they're being used for over three days. Um, so again, patient-specific risk factors we want to consider, not necessarily first line, but the intranasal corticosteroids, if it, if they're taking a while to get on deck, these might be good alternatives.

Phenylephrine Update And What Changes

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And again, I think that's where the question around how long have you had symptoms? Have you tried anything? And what kind of relief, what kinds of are you looking for immediate relief or are you looking to stay on something to help prevent symptoms going forward as well? So all of that comes into that decision-making consideration when you're working with the patient. Absolutely. You mentioned pseudoephedrine also, and one thing we were chatting about before the session started was phenylephrin and and the move to maybe have that removed from over-the-counter shelf. So you can speak to that a little bit.

SPEAKER_01

Um, I mean, I don't have much news to share other than it hasn't been officially finally banned. It's under, so in 2024, the FDA recommended removal of phenolephrine, and now it's undergoing like a comment period, a public comment period. So there may be news, hopefully, as soon as you know the end of the year. Um, and we may see start to see those products be taken off the shelves. But there's no mandate right now that they be removed. So some pharmacies may still carry them. I've definitely still seen products with phenolephrin in the stores, but hopefully soon, just again, due to their lack of effectiveness, um, is why they are being removed from the shelves and from potentially some of our combination like coffin-cold products as well. One thing though, I did look it up earlier, and it doesn't apply to nasal phenolephrin. Right. I don't know that nasal phenolephrin is most people's, you know, top choice. Uh, but if that is your go-to, that should still be available even after the FDA ban goes into effect.

How We Build A Patient Recommendation

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah. And important to clarify, as you said, that this is not a safety consideration. It's just a lack of efficacy. And my understanding is that they have found that it's necess some research has found that it's necess not necessarily better than placebo, which is why the question has been raised, and now FDA is evaluating that, and as you said, public comment period, and reevaluating whether there's any benefit to having it on shelves because it may not be more effective than placebo. So very interesting how that will shake things up, though, I think, because as you mentioned, it is many combination products in particular over the counter. And so thinking about products specifically marketed for nasal congestion. That's many more people are probably gonna need to go to the pharmacy counter to get that sort of veteran behind the counter instead, if that does go away. So we'll see. Stay tuned. Stay tuned for more there. All right, so let's I I think. Got a good overview of sort of the classes and as you mentioned, the intranasal anahistamine too. And it that there are, we we're not really touching on prescription products, but I know there are other even oral antihistamines and intranasal anahistamines and and products still available by prescription, as well as other drug classes too. But we're not really going to get into that because I think a lot of patients are looking for over-the-counter relief. And and so if you had a patient who came to you and say an adult complaining about itchy, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, they've been having it for a couple days now, not sure what's causing it, not sure what to take, where would you start in that patient care process?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, definitely. I definitely would ask if it's if it's happened before and if they've or if they're able to recognize that. And I'd ask them if they are, you know, exposed to some of our common allergens. So if they work outside or if they're outside often, that could be something that would lead me to feel really confident about my recommendation. In general, for most patients, I'm gonna wanna recommend the intranasal corticosteroids as first line. Like and they're gonna cover all of those symptoms and more that the patient was experiencing. But I would advise the patient that they it would take, you know, up to two days to really start to see any effect. And then for full efficacy, about a week or so is when they'll really start to notice a difference. So in the meantime, I'd probably recommend just an oral anahistamine, one of those second generation things like Loratidine or citirazine, to kind of take the edge off, if you will, for those first couple of days. So for most patients who haven't tried anything before, those are usually my go-to. And then if they've already tried those, is that when we start to get into some of the other potential options, if they're having particularly ocular symptoms or if they're having um, you know, other more congestion or things like that, then we can recommend some of the other products. I forgot to mention kind of ruling out like cough, cold, fever, flu type things I would be asking for those symptoms before.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. And I think to in general, there's not a lot of comorbidities we'd be thinking about that would be a concern with the ones you mentioned, the anahistamines and nasal steroids. I think if you were to go down the path of the pseudoophedrin, perhaps you might be, as you mentioned earlier, thinking about blood pressure as a comorbidity or PPH, those sorts of things. But yeah, I mean, are are there any other patient-specific considerations that you'd be thinking about when tailoring your recommendation?

SPEAKER_01

I definitely ask how comfortable or confident they are with using a nasal spray, because I wouldn't recommend the nasal spray and then try it once or twice and not feel, you know, that it's working for them and give up because they're actually they can be pretty expensive, um, the nasal sprays. And so I'd and just coming from my personal experience of knowing that I didn't want to do that first thing in the morning, I would ask kind of what they're what they're feeling about using a nasal spray before just telling them that's what they need to try. But most people I think are are open to it, to especially if they're having, you know, really bothersome symptoms.

Common Mistakes With Allergy Products

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And sort of weighing that personal preference versus what you can expect from the medication to helping put that in perspective. So you did mention the nasal administration can be tricky for some people. And so are there other sort of misconceptions or common issues that people run into that we can help correct or prevent when people are asking about allergy symptoms?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'm thinking of like simple things like making sure that they're using the product with the dosing that's recommended on the package and not, you know, doubling up if they're having a really bad allergy day or things like that. I think a lot of the products are marketed as non-drowsy or less drowsy, but they can still cause some drowsiness in patients. So being uh advising patients to sort of be aware of how something might impact them if they're using it for the first time. And in general, they can take it at night as well if it is causing drowsiness. I think those are some of the things that immediately come to mind. Some other things with a nasal spray are just making sure they're using it, you know, directing it away from the septum so they're not having nasal irritation or things like that. Just kind of pro tips with administration are the things that I think of. I'm trying to think if there's anything else I wanted to touch on.

SPEAKER_00

One thing that comes to mind when I just saw you uh talking about the nasal administration is also priming it, especially if they hadn't used it since last allergy season, priming it to make sure it's going to be spraying properly again and also checking that expiration date if it's something that's been sitting in their cabinet for a while just to make sure it's in date and could it be effective for them. But yeah, I think reiterating the proper use really matters. And if they're not seeing benefit, reassessing how are you using it, helping walk through some of those considerations to make sure they're they're getting the most benefit. And as you say, they can be quite expensive. So making sure that they're gonna be getting their money's worth. Yeah, for sure. Excellent. So, and then also, you know, we talked at the beginning of the discussion around prevention and reinforcing some of those prevention techniques too. So non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic together can go hand in hand. But yeah, I mean, I think I we cover a lot of ground, lots of great information about the the classes we're thinking about, especially over the counter, um, some of those uh symptom assessment considerations, first line therapies, proper use matters, and also adherence to, especially if it is something they're not taking as a one-off as needed product. Anything else that you wanted to sort of wrap up with or remind us about before we wrap up?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'll just add that if you know that your allergy season is coming up, or if you're hearing on the news that allergies are getting worse, that starting to take some of these medications kind of preventatively can also be really beneficial to help prevent really severe symptoms. And then one of those websites where you can check the pollen accounts or pollen.com is it is a good one. Um but I I also follow my local news station on Instagram. Okay and they let me know when it's gonna be a rough day. So just in thinking prevention, those are some of the things that I might uh recommend as well.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. Yeah, and and that's a great reminder that local local news can be the answer sometimes too. Well, to wrap up our discussion today, Tyler, we are our this is our game changers podcast. And so we always wrap up with our game changer and what you think is the one takeaway that you'd want our listeners to walk home with. So, what would you say is the game changer with this topic?

SPEAKER_01

I definitely say that I say two. I say that the intranasal corticosteroids are really gonna be your best bet, even if you've tried antihistamines and they've worked for you for years. Um, if you're experiencing new allergens or longer seasons, the intranasal corticosteroids are really going to be a great option. And then if you're like me and you've tried everything over the counter, but you haven't tried azolastine, the intranasal anahistamine, I go ahead and give it a try. I think that even on top of these other medications, it really kind of boosted my response and tolerability of my allergy symptoms this year.

SPEAKER_00

Excellent. So great takeaway. I think it's great to remember that you know, it's having that go-to med class of intranasal corticosteroids as this a great option for many people is just such a nice, simple way to think about this. And then tailoring, as you say, based on the patient's symptoms, comorbidities, and personal preference and experience. So lots of opportunities for pharmacists there to be really positively impacting patient care. Tyler, thank you so much for your time. This is a great discussion. Great reminder for all of us as we head into maybe the worst of it going forward.

SPEAKER_01

Good luck out there. Be sure to wash everything. Your nose, your clothes, your dogs.

SPEAKER_00

Yep. Great reminder. All right. Well, we talked about a lot of great practical tips today, and these will be summarized in the practice resource that goes along with this podcast on the CE Impact website. So, users, feel free to check that out. And listeners, be sure to claim your CE credit for this episode of Game Changers by logging in at ceimpact.com. And as always, have a great week and keep learning. I can't wait to dig into another game changing topic with you all next week.