Winter’s finally gone and spring is here! But wait, for those of us with pollen allergies, we basically get a few short weeks of spring before we’re tossed into another round of sneezing, itchy eyes, and stuffy noses that also won’t stop running. Yeah, I know. When allergy season hits, we turn into hot messes.

Having had to deal with allergy season since college, I had all but given up on the idea of actually enjoying spring until I met Dr. Gary Sackrison, M.D. from Vista Medical Center, who helped rid my dependency on nasal sprays to breathe and the unpleasant experiences of pollen season for two years in a row now.

Seriously, when I first went to see Dr. Gary I was a mouth breather. Between the months of March and July/August I would breathe through my mouth at night and would have to wake up multiple times just to use nasal spray so that I could give my dried-out throat a break and exhale through my nose for a short while. It’s a pathetic sight to see…

Dr. Gary is a Board Certified Family Practice Physician from the US. He’s an award-winning physician known for his compassion and putting his patients’ needs first. He has been honored as one of the best family practice physicians in Dallas, Texas on numerous occasions and he has the distinction of being one of the top physicians in patient satisfaction. Along with his private practice experience of more than 20 years, Dr. Gary offers quality care for the whole family. He specializes in primary care, preventative medicine, and health education.

Dr. Gary recently started a WeChat group where folks can ask him any non-diagnostic questions. We’ve all had moments where we’ve got medical questions that aren’t exactly urgent enough to need a visit to the hospital, but if not addressed, will make it impossible to sleep well at night. This WeChat group is just for that. To join, scan the QR code in the poster below.

So sitting over a cup of coffee with Dr. Gary, I dared to ask the big allergy question: Is it possible to avoid allergy season altogether? And according to Dr. Gary, the answer is a resounding yes!

“It’s much easier to maintain control than it is to regain control,” he tells me. This means, if you know it’s coming, get ahead of it with preventative measures before the first itch and sneeze set in. At home, invest in a good air purifier and keep your windows closed – especially when the catkins start to fly. When you’re out and about, N95 masks and masks that completely seal your face will help.

In 2020, at the beginning of the Covid outbreak, I was pregnant with my daughter, and I literally walked around Beijing with chemistry class goggles, multiple face masks, and (not pictured) rubber gloves. I managed to avoid any major allergy symptoms but also felt like I had kinda lost my mind at the same time. When I told this to Dr. Gary, he, in his very non-judgemental way, made it clear that the goggles and gloves were unnecessary. According to Dr. Gary, unless you touch pollen then immediately proceed to touch your eyes, it’s not going to make a difference.

Finally, the last non-medical recommendation from Dr. Gary was to clean the inside of your nose. No, he didn’t mean that we should all suddenly start picking our noses… A saline spray or neti pot to rinse the inside of your nostrils will flush out pollen spores and prevent allergy symptoms.

Is there one allergy medicine that’ll work for everyone? No. This isn’t The Shire and we’re not Hobbits. There isn’t one pill to rule them all. Everyone is unique and it might take a few tries before you find the perfect combination that tackles all your symptoms. Get ahead of the game, and go see your doctor before allergy season hits – in Beijing, that’s around mid-March, so chop, chop!

Dr. Gary recommended a list of over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medicine that you can get at Vista, but if you just want to try it all out, any local pharmacy will have them and will charge less than the hospitals. Get some antihistamines and keep them handy at home just in case. Claritin, Zertec, eye drops, and nasal sprays will all feel like they’re your most prized possession. They’re OTC and cheap. My advice is to load up in advance for the season. If you end up using them, great! Toss them out in autumn, they’re cheap anyway. If you do, well, you’ll be thankful you prepared in advance.

For the really bad days when your nose is blocked, there’s sinus pressure, and you become so helplessly frustrated that you need to see a doctor for decongestants. Unfortunately in China these are not OTC and will require a prescription. A good decongestant like Sudafed will help relieve the sinus pressure and runny nose and give you some quality sleep.

Finally, nasal steroids like Flonase and Nasonex will help you gain control during allergy season, but they take about a week to kick in. For my fellow hay fever sufferers, this would be the time to start on them if you’re hoping to avoid allergy symptoms altogether this year. It takes some tries before you can find the perfect combination of medication.

To get in touch with Dr. Gary, book an appointment through his new WeChat group or call Vista Medical Center.

Find it:
3/F, Kerry Centre, 1 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区光华路1号嘉里中心3层
Tel: 8529 6618

KEEP READING: WeChat Mini Program That’ll Protect You and Your Child This Allergy Season

Images: Vista Medical Center, Mina Yan

Ah, spring is in the air! And here in Beijing, you can literally see it flying around again. Last spring Beijing was just in the beginning stages of a Covid lockdown and I was in the first trimester of my pregnancy, so I stayed indoors. When I did go outside, I was covered in protective gear from head to toe. We’re talking hats, goggles, multiple layers of masks, and rubber gloves. And when last April came around, I started researching allergy medication that’s safe for the baby. But, to my surprise, I never needed it.

In previous years, every spring was met with intense hay fever: itchy red eyes, sinus congestions, scratchy throat, runny nose, and sneezing – the whole shebang. But last year’s lack of symptoms gave me a glimpse of hope for spring. Perhaps with the right preventative measures, hay fever can be prevented?

This year’s pollen season brings about new questions, especially for new parents. If I have severe pollen allergies, will that be passed on to my baby? We spoke with Dr. Joy Oreto, a pediatrician at Oasis International Hospital for some insights.

According to Dr. Oreto, allergies have a genetic predisposition. If one or both parents have a pollen allergy, it is possible that their baby has a reaction to a different allergen. During Beijing’s dreaded catkins season, sometimes the child will have sneezing, a clear runny nose, nasal congestion, and itchy eyes. If allergies become severe it’s best to consult your pediatrician.

So how many parents protect themselves and their children from Beijing’s inevitable catkins season? Dr. Oreto recommends staying indoors when the pollen count is high and keeping all your windows closed.

There’s a WeChat mini program called 花粉监测预报 (huāfěn jiāncè yùbào) that’s easy to use and will tell you if the pollen count is high. Most of us are not as familiar with pollen count as we are with reading AQI, but this mini-program makes it easy by giving the count next to an emoji. Smily face means low pollen count. Sad face means you should probably reconsider dining out on the terrace.

To add the 花粉监测预报 WeChat mini program follow the steps below:

1. Open your Discover page and click on Mini Programs

2. Put in 花粉监测预报 in the search bar at the top.

3. Select the 花粉监测预报 mini program.

4. Click the green buttons to give the mini-program permission to be installed on your WeChat.

When you absolutely do need to go outside during pollen season, be sure you have adequate preventative measures in place.

• Wear a mask
• Close the doors and windows
• Blast your air filters on high
• Change your clothes as soon as you get home. Our outdoor clothes can carry pollen from outside and if you have severe allergies, you don’t want that getting transferred to your furniture and clothes at home.

They say that the two things that are certain in life are death and taxes. Well, if you live in Beijing, there’s also the annual catkins invasion. Stay safe, my friends!

KEEP READING: Aaachoo! Understanding Childhood Allergies in China 

Images: Pexels, CGTN

These past few days have been gorgeous and catkin-free. But according to the Beijing Meteorological Service, that’s all about to change this weekend as the second wave of catkins hits the city. Starting from tomorrow (April 25) until the end of May holiday (May 5) areas inside the 6th Ring Road will be met with annoying fluffy catkins that’ll undoubtedly irritate those of us with seasonal allergies.

Beijing’s Yanqing, Miyun, and Huairou areas will be hit between April 27 and May 7. So if you’re planning some May holiday family time out in the countryside, be sure to pack your allergy medicine. Click here for a list of recommendations on how to best protect you and your family from catkin season.

For those with seasonal allergies, COVID-19 has made it a faux pas to cough or sneeze in public. But, the symptoms for seasonal allergies and COVID-19 are different. Click here to find out more about seasonal allergies in the time of COVID-19.

Photos: CGTN