SAN ANTONIO — When it comes to allergies, millions suffer from common indoor and outdoor ailments, but San Antonio is unique—the Alamo City was cited as one of the top five allergy capitals in the county by the Allergy and Asthma Foundation Of America.
Doctor Edward Brooks, allergy specialist for University Hospital and UT Health San Antonio, said with mountain cedar, mold, dust, ragweed and pollen being the specific allergens our area, patients who go untreated are forced to muddle through the symptoms year-round.
Brooks said that, in some cases, the cost of treatments such as shots or liquid drops could become costly.
"It will have a copay, or some insurance has no copay and it usually covers the shots,” Brook said. “Now, the drops aren't covered and we charge somewhere between $15 to $100 a month, because that's how much the extract cost."
Kim Crost with Integrative Healing Institute said many clients turn to her for a holistic approach using essential oils to help, especially during mountain cedar season, which usually kicks in December and lasts through February.
"It's not really symptom-based product, it's more treating the cause of what's going on,” Crost said. “For instance, the cedar; so you use a tiny bit of cedar either topically, or there's a new product that you put in your water that is tasteless…It's an immune-therapy kind of thing, but it's been around 150 years."
Brooks said he recommends people consult a doctor to find the root of their individual problem before trying to find relief.
"It could be allergies, cold, sinus infections—it could be a number of things,” Brooks said. “Find out what it is first before you reach for something that you think it is."