I didn’t suffer from allergies for most of my life. I had smooth sailing through my childhood years. I spent countless hours outside camping and playing outdoors as a teenager — all without a sniffle or a snuffle. I would open up the windows and let in the fresh air every spring as a twenty-something young adult, basking in the anti-SADness of it all.

Then, as my twenties wore on, I realized that something was up. My eyes would get blurry from time to time. Was it screen fatigue? Possibly. The doctor gave me eye drops. They helped in the winter. In the spring, though? The blurriness continued.

Then the sneezing picked up. And the brain fog. Maybe I was suffering from a dreaded plant-based seasonal allergic reaction. I investigated further and found it to indeed be the cause.

It took a long time to figure out if I had seasonal allergies. It took even longer for me to try medication — which made a world of a difference. I want to share that knowledge here so that no one ever has to go through weeks and months of blurry vision and foggy thoughts as they slowly figure out if they’re allergic to something. Instead, look for these signs as red flags that you just might be suffering from allergies and may need some medication to get back to feeling normal again.

The Obvious Signs

While there are some subtle signs out there (I’ll go over them in a minute), I will start with the obvious ones, like sneezing. And yes, that’s on here, but there are actually a lot more allergic symptoms than you might expect.

The experts over at HealthTap, who offer online “real-time access” to actual doctors, have laid out several of the most prominent allergy symptoms, including:

• Congestion;
• Dry cough;
• Itching of the eyes;
• Short winded;
• Runny noses;
• Sore throat;
• Watery eyes;
• Wheezing;
• And yes, sneezing.

Many of these symptoms are similar to sicknesses like a respiratory virus or the flu. If you find that you’re dealing with these, don’t just assume it’s a cold and charge ahead with home remedies. They’re the first sign that you may want to confirm or deny the presence of allergies.

Deeper Allergy Signs

Sickness symptoms are common external signs. But I’ve found that there are also quite a few subtle ways that allergies can present themselves.

For instance, Mark Aronica, MD from Cleveland Clinic points out that allergies can lead to brain fog — something I’m very familiar with. While I associate that with blurred vision and difficulty thinking, Aronica points out that it can all be related to the deeper issue of fatigue caused by seasonal allergies.

He says that “People with allergies experience inflammation. That inflammation leads to a congested nose, disrupted sleep patterns, and not getting good rest.” He goes on to break down that this inflammation comes when the body produces proteins called cytokines, which fight off infections, viruses, and colds. When your body overreacts to an allergen, though, it can lead to a chronic and prolonged overproduction of cytokines, leaving you inflamed, exhausted, and — dare I turn it into a verb? — brain-fogged.

Other nuanced signs of an allergic reaction include:

• Itchiness (including tingling in the mouth);
• Hives and localized rashes;
• Headaches.

Again, these are just signs, not diagnoses. If you’re suffering from any of them, though, you should probably reach out to your primary care physician. Don’t just keep muscling through.

Medication Options Available

There are a lot of different medications you can take if you’re dealing with an allergy. Antihistamines like Zyrtec can counteract your body’s reaction to allergies.

Decongestants like Sudafed can also provide temporary relief, although these should never be taken too many days in a row — usually three tops. Otherwise, you could be dealing with an addictive habit that is worse than seasonal allergies.

Flonase is another commonly prescribed allergy medication. This one is a corticosteroid, which means it helps with inflammation and addresses things like itching, wheezing, and congestion.

The sheer number of options should already be enough to make my point. If you think you’re suffering from allergies, you need to track your symptoms, confirm that it’s likely, and then — here’s the important part — consult your doctor. They’ll be able to talk things through with you, discuss your options, and get you set up for a return to the land of clear thoughts, deep breaths, and smooth swallowing.

Here’s to a happy, sneeze-free spring!