Doctor preparing for upcoming allergy season

Published September 23, 2010


SEGUIN — Boxes of tissues will be flying off the shelves as cedar pollen counts begin to rise.

Dr. Brooks Mullen, of the Seguin Ear Nose and Throat Clinic, said the symptoms of allergies can often be mistaken for those of the common cold.

“Allergies and the common cold are similar. People confuse an upper respiratory virus with allergies,” he said. “Most people I see think they have allergies when they actually have a cold.”

Common symptoms of an allergic attack can include itchy watery eyes, congestion and nose and face pressure.

The first step to fighting an allergic reaction is knowing what your body is fighting against, Mullen said.

“It is important to identify people with seasonal or perennial allergies because there are so many ways to treat them,” he said. “First we distinguish with a brief medical exam. If we could identify ahead of time we can decrease the amount of productivity that is lost.”

Once the antigen has been recognized, the doctor can create a plan of attack.

“There is preemptive therapy with steroid treatments also there are dozens of antihistamines that can be used to combat symptoms,” he said. “Our main approach is to educate about allergies and create a regiment of medication that works to reduce allergies.”

Mullen’s staff also offers an alternative treatment.

“We have allergy therapy. The goal of allergy therapy is to keep the patient comfortable,” he said. “They are low-dose shots of extracts of the allergens that you are allergic to and it helps to build the antibodies that fight the allergens.”

While it may help to fight the allergies, it is not a cure-all, Mullen said.

“Over a period of 1-3 years it is possible to build enough antibodies that are permanent but that is not everybody,” he said.

Allergens have no age limit, Mullen said.

“Youth and adults alike have allergies and we see them and everybody in between,” he said. “Symptoms typically will start during childhood.”

Location can play a part in whether a person develops a sensitivity to an antigen.

“Sometimes they will start in adulthood when a person moves to a different geographic location and they will start to manifest symptoms,” he said. “It is also possible to develop allergies in adulthood without changing geographic locations, but that is not very common.”

Mullen has been named for the last three years one of Consumer Research Council of America’s top physicians.

The Seguin Ear Nose and Throat Clinic has been serving the community for more than 20 years and is located at 908 E Court St No. 2.