• Discuss. Your doctor will talk with you about your symptoms, medical history and work environment
• Test. Allergy tests may be performed to narrow down possible allergen culprits
• Medicate. You may be prescribed medications to treat your allergy symptoms
• Give you a shot. You may also receive allergy shots, which can help your allergies go away
• Make lifestyle suggestions. Your doctor may also suggest things you can do to help manage your symptoms
A discussion with your allergist, along with results from allergy testing, will help determine if you have a true work-related allergy or chemical sensitivity. If it is indeed a work-related issue, you may be able to negotiate with your employer to change your work environment or modify your day-to-day duties.
The first step to solving any problem you may be having with indoor allergies at work is finding out what is causing your symptoms, and learning what you can do to remedy the situation.
If you or a colleague is spending a good deal of the day reaching for the tissue box, you might want to consider that an allergen or irritant is lurking nearby. Look around you and write down some of the possible causes, and take the list to your doctor.
Knowing what is causing your symptoms will give you, your doctor and your employer a much better chance of finding a remedy, and that’ll get you working at top speed in no time.