Allergies have an undeniable effect on your mind and body. If your allergies are seasonal, it can cause you discomfort for several weeks each year, and if your allergies are chronic it may have more dire effects on your health.
If you find yourself feeling lethargic at work or school lacking the energy to focus, focusing on lessening your allergy symptoms through a little self-care and allergy medication may be all that you need to begin feeling better.
Today, our local McAllen ENT, Dr. Frank R. Glatz and Jonathan Lerma, a certified physician assistant and a member of the sinus relief team here at the Glatz Group, review a few methods you can use to help you lessen the intensity of your allergies.
Allergies can knock you down whether it’s seasonal or an all-year affair, but you don’t have to be left to its mercy. If you’re feeling especially drained, you may want to consider allergy shots or immunotherapy.
People who go for immunotherapy treatment get injections that include the substances they’re allergic to, in increasing amounts once or twice a week. Its purpose is to desensitize the immune system as time progresses. Immunotherapy is the best treatment if your seasonal allergy symptoms come year-round or when you don't have enough success with allergy medications or natural remedies.
While eating right, taking vitamin supplements, and getting some exercise may provide significant health benefits to your body, it also may affect how your immune system reacts to particular allergens.
For instance, supplements like fish oil can reduce inflammation, and if your sinuses are inflamed and causing congestion, fish oil can help provide some relief. Fish oil can also:
Other supplements like quercetin and bromelain have a chance of decreasing respiratory infections and allergy symptoms. Both are made up of strong anti-inflammatory properties that help with allergy inflammation to allow the nasal canal to properly drain and recover.
Exercise, on the other hand, may strengthen your heart and lungs while fortifying your muscles, joints, and cognitive function, but it also has an effect on how your body reacts to allergens. As working out pumps the blood through your veins, it helps you manage your allergy symptoms and directs blood to the vessels in your nose, which constrict and ease the congestion you may be suffering from. Running can also release epinephrine into your system,
While physical activity isn’t a cure for your allergies, it can help to soothe some of your symptoms. You may have to work out indoors if you have pollen allergies or outdoors if you’re allergic to dust mites, but if you can deal with some of your allergy symptoms during exercise, your body will be healthier over time.
While stress itself isn’t an official cause of allergies, it can cause your body to release hormones and chemicals like histamine that can worsen an active allergic reaction. To make matters worse, springtime is a heavy season for allergies that can leave people feeling miserable, underslept, and overly exhausted, further perpetuating their stress.
Thankfully, there are a few methods we can use to ease our stress and hopefully provide some sinus relief. Some methods to reduce stress include:
Using these calming techniques in tandem with allergy medication and any of the other tips within this article is your best bet at finding sinus relief. When all else fails, however, you have a sinus relief team at Glatz Group that is ready and willing to help you feel much better.
Your ears, nose, and throat are all tightly connected, and if something is affecting any particular part of that region, everything suffers. Experiencing a painful episode of sinus congestion is no fun for anyone, and when sinus pressure causes pain, your ears can also be affected, causing dizziness and a sensation that makes your ears feel muffled or clogged.
Fortunately, our McAllen ENT, Dr. Frank R. Glatz, and his team of sinus relief specialists at the Glatz Group know of several tips that you can do at home for relief. Should your ear congestion progress into pain or come with a fever, however, it is best to come and see us for treatment.
When your Eustachian tube is blocked or stops functioning properly, it can trap fluids within the middle ear. When the Eustachian tube gets clogged, you may feel pressure in your ear, muffling your hearing and causing ear pain. Eventually, this could turn into a painful ear infection.
Any condition that affects your sinuses can cause ear congestion, including:
Ear congestion symptoms can also be caused by other issues in your middle ear or the ear canal that affects the eardrum--also referred to as the tympanic membrane. If you have experienced symptoms and need relief, visit our office today.
There are different appropriate remedies depending on what the cause is. When it has to do with sinus-related problems like the common cold, flu, allergies, sinusitis, or irritants (e.g. tobacco smoke), here are a few things you can do to treat it:
With regards to fluid buildup, an afternoon of fun and sun at the pool or a quick shower can get water inside your ear, causing your ear to be congested. Try these methods to release the water from your ear:
From an overall perspective, the ear is quite a fascinating part of our body. Glands within the ear canal produce earwax, called cerumen, that ultimately protects, lubricates, and self-cleans the area. Normally, chewing and other typical jaw motions shift the earwax out of the ear, where it dries and flakes off, but sometimes, when we try to clean out the earwax by sticking a q tip in our ear, it can create a blockage, causing symptoms of ear congestion. Some simple solutions to get rid of wax buildup from your ears would include:
As for when you are traveling, you can avoid or alleviate airplane ear congestion (caused by air pressure) by chewing gum or hard candy, swallowing, or yawning during takeoff and landing.
If you think there may be a foreign object stuck in your ear canal, however, don’t try to take it out by yourself. Either see your ENT doctor in McAllen immediately or go to urgent care somewhere nearby.
Ear congestion is not uncommon and can often be efficiently resolved at home with the help of home remedies or over-the-counter treatments.
Should your ear congestion last more than two weeks or be followed by a fever, fluid drainage, loss of hearing, balance issues, or severe ear pain, come pay a visit to your local McAllen ENT that we can guarantee you’ll be ‘Glatz’ to see--and hear once your problem is resolved.
Seasonal allergens throughout the United States usually taper off during the winter months, but in Texas, the opposite is true. In fact, McAllen was ranked the worst city in the U.S. because of allergens in 2018, causing individuals that live here to suffer from chronic sinusitis.
You may have a hard time breathing through your nose, and the area around your eyes may feel swollen or tender. Before trying to google and self-diagnose you or your loved one’s symptoms, however, let our McAllen ENT, Dr. Frank R. Glatz, and his team of sinus relief specialists at the Glatz Group give you the run-down on what chronic sinusitis is, and how it affects you.
Chronic sinusitis occurs when the spaces inside your nose and head--called your sinuses--swell up and are inflamed for three months or longer. This common inflammatory condition prevents mucus from draining properly, thus making your nasal passages congested. In fact, several different causes can attribute to the development of chronic sinusitis, such as:
Be on the lookout for any the following symptoms if you suspect you are currently suffering from chronic sinusitis:
The aforementioned symptoms are not the only key factors to consider during a diagnosis. Other signs and symptoms to consider include:
Chronic sinusitis is often confused with acute sinusitis, as they have similar signs and symptoms. An easy way to distinguish between the two is to remember that acute sinusitis is a temporary infection of the sinuses usually associated with a cold, while the signs and symptoms of chronic sinusitis last at least 12 weeks.
Though you may face several episodes of acute sinusitis before developing chronic sinusitis, fever isn't a common sign of chronic sinusitis. You may get one with acute sinusitis.
If any of these symptoms hit close to home for you or your loved one, you’re probably wondering what the next step to take is. Before our trusted ENT can recommend treatment for your condition, he needs to run a diagnosis along with a number of tests that examine your nose with a small, nasal endoscope that lets him look for mechanical obstruction, redness, swelling, and sinus drainage.
If you or your loved one have tried using antibiotics and found them to be ineffective, you may need to consider treatment. Steroids can be more helpful when it comes to treating chronic sinusitis, as they reduce the swelling that leads to nasal and sinus blockage. Nevertheless, many patients require a more effective solution that provides longer-lasting relief. That is where we come in.
Balloon sinuplasty technology is used to treat chronic sinusitis, especially for patients whose symptoms were not resolved with medication. Not only is it a minimally-invasive treatment option, but it also can be performed by our very own McAllen ENT, Dr. Glatz, right in our office.
Chronic sinusitis doesn’t just affect your nasal function; it compromises your quality of life. Most patients are able to go back to their daily lives within 24 hours after the treatment, making balloon sinuplasty a popular choice for sinus relief.
When you or a loved one’s allergies are all out of whack, you can’t help but search for solutions to help resolve your sinus situation.
However, if you happen to be one of the 30 million Americans that suffer from chronic sinusitis, it can be a challenge knowing who you should turn to. It is critical that you choose the right doctor to help you deal with your situation; one that is comfortable with and fully capable of performing the procedure known as balloon sinuplasty.
Let McAllen ENT, Dr. Frank R. Glatz, and his team of sinus relief specialists at the Glatz Group provide you with some insight on how to choose the right sinuplasty doctor, and why you can expect nothing short of the ‘Glatz Guarantee’ from us!
The first step we recommend you take before making any decision on a doctor is gathering as much information as possible about the procedure. While your doctor should provide detailed information about the treatment, it never hurts to do a little bit of investigation yourself so that you can ask questions or raise any concerns during your consultation.
A generally safe operation, balloon sinuplasty is meant to reshape the blocked sinus openings in your nasal cavity with a small medical balloon. This helps to open up the sinus cavities without having to remove any bone or tissue, ultimately making for a safer procedure.
An ENT doctor makes this happen by using a tube-like contraption that inflates a small balloon inside one, several, or all sinus cavities, thus helping to optimize their drainage function.
The balloon sinuplasty procedure can provide long-term relief compared to traditional nasal surgeries. Click here to learn more about the benefits of balloon sinuplasty and how it compares to traditional nasal surgery.
When it comes to finding the right balloon sinuplasty surgeon, you want to evaluate 3 things:
Board certification is one of the most imperative factors to consider when you’re in the process of picking an ENT. It indicates that the doctor has the necessary training, skills, and experience to offer healthcare in otolaryngology.
In terms of experience for balloon sinuplasty, experience matters when you’re looking to prevent or treat a health condition such as chronic sinusitis. The more experience an ENT has treating a condition or performing a procedure, the higher the chance that everything will go exactly as it should.
It’s important to ask if your surgeon has done the fellowship training related to your diagnosis.
Dr. Glatz brings 20 years worth of experience to the Valley Ear, Nose, and Throat team and was among the first ENT’s to utilize cutting-edge technology when performing balloon sinuplasty and has successfully performed countless procedures.
As for patient care and experience, review patient satisfaction surveys to read what people have experienced in terms of the ease of scheduling an appointment, wait times, office environment, and the office staff’s amicability.
Our McAllen ENT has the experience, skillset, and reliable staff to deliver an outstanding patient experience, while providing outstanding care for individuals of all ages.
Schedule an appointment with the McAllen ENT at the Glatz Group today to see if you’re an eligible candidate for balloon sinuplasty and the Glatz Guarantee! If eligible, this procedure can be safely administered by our ENT doctors in our very own office.
If you’ve been suffering from a constant runny nose, nasal congestion, and drainage running down your throat, then you may have a condition known as chronic rhinitis--a condition caused by nerves that are out of balance and sending too many signals to your nose.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 12 million Americans suffer from allergic rhinitis, which is the inflammation of the nasal mucosa that could be causing your unwanted symptoms. The solution, however, is crystal clear. It is ClariFix.
Today, your friendly neighborhood McAllen ENT, Dr. Frank R. Glatz, and his sinus relief team at the Glatz Group are looking forward to exploring what this innovative treatment is with you, including how it works and how it is beneficial to your breathing.
This clinically-proven, minimally invasive cryotherapy treatment--i.e. localized freezing--goes after the source of your symptoms for guaranteed relief through the use of a cooling probe that freezes a small, inflamed region located in the back of your nose.
As the cold temperature reaches the out-of-balance nerves, the nerve signal pathways become temporarily blocked, making them unable to signal the nose to drip, run, or swell excessively. Freezing this tissue will relieve the inflammation and pain as a result.
This is a promising option for those who suffer through year-round allergies and found traditional treatments like allergy medications and allergy shots, or immunotherapy, to be unsuccessful.
Not only is the procedure safe and cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but it can also be performed right in our very own office. The discomfort is kept to a minimum where only topical or local anesthesia is required.
You might sense a slight pressure along with a cooling sensation in your nose and likely around your molars. It may cause some discomfort, but patients haven’t described it as a painful experience.
Its recovery and down time is also fairly minimal, and may give you long-lasting relief as it typically does for 4 out of 5 patients, according to ClariFix’s website. It generally takes between two to six weeks post-treatment to notice the changes.
It is worth noting that ClariFix is mainly for symptom management. Allergies come from your immune system, and the treatment doesn’t change the way your immune system functions. It will not make your allergies, or a simple cold, go away for good.
To find out if the ClariFix is right for you, don’t hesitate to speak with our McAllen sinus relief specialists here at the Glatz Group to see if it can alleviate your symptoms.
The treatment is not recommended for those who have specific health conditions like cryoglobulinemia, paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria, cold urticaria, Raynaud’s disease, and any open and/or infected wounds, as well as other skin conditions at or close to the tissue area that the procedure targets.
If you or a loved one also happen to have diabetes, sensitivity to cold temperatures, neuropathic disorders, bleeding disorders, or impaired peripheral circulation in the region that requires treatment, it is well-advised that you proceed with utmost caution.
To see if you are eligible for the cool treatment with ClariFix Cryotherapy, schedule a consultation with Dr. Frank R Glatz today!
As gifts continue to pile up under the Christmas tree, your family’s curiosity grows and grows. In just a few days, joy and dreams will be made as gifts are opened. That is, until you see the empty stockings hanging off of the mantel.
Don’t worry. There’s still some time left, so why not seize the opportunity to fill up those stockings with stocking stuffers that are helpful to your family’s sinuses, especially since we live in a city that is considered the worst place for allergies in 2019.
Our McAllen ENT, Dr. Frank R. Glatz, and his sinus relief team at the Glatz Group have thought of the perfect sinus-saving stocking stuffers you can include into your holiday festivities so you won’t have to search for the right present in a hurry!
Listed below are the perfect items any allergy sufferer would love to find in his or her stocking:
1. Allergy-Free Bedding and Pillowcases - This is a practical gift for just about anyone who could use sinus relief this winter! According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, dust mites could be the leading cause of year-round allergies and asthma. Since we spend a decent amount of our time in bed, why not invest in hypoallergenic bedding to alleviate one of the most common triggers of people’s allergies year-round?
2. Air Purifiers - As many people are affected by indoor allergens, an air purifier can go a long way to help your friends or family members breathe better and get a better quality of sleep just by placing the device in their bedroom at night.
3. Shower Steamers - These little shower tablets pack in a lot of sinus relief for those of us who prefer a shower instead of a bath. Some of them mix in peppermint and eucalyptus with an extra kick of menthol to really open up your sinuses and drain out all the mucus.
4. Honey - Honey--especially raw, unprocessed honey--isn’t just a delicious and nutritious sugar replacement, it’s filled with curative properties and is known to help lessen many allergy symptoms.
5. Green and herbal teas - Green tea is great for its antioxidants that not only improve your health but keep allergy symptoms under control.
There are also fantastic herbal teas that are meant to alleviate nasal inflammation, and your sniffling-and-sneezing friends or family members will appreciate this. Drinking the hot tea will speed their nasal drainage by giving the mucous membranes some moisture.
Try searching for the best herbal teas for sinuses like peppermint, chamomile, eucalyptus, wild thyme, and blackberry. Give them a collection to last them longer with different options to select from.
6. Fruit Basket or Edible Arrangements - This is more of an “honorable mention” as it isn’t something that could fit in a Christmas stocking. A basket full of yummy fruits is a wonderful option not for its visually appealing quality, but also for other nutritious purposes.
Edible arrangements are a great gift! Eating apples is said to improve how the lungs function, leaving your friends or family members less at risk to particular allergens. Also, pineapple is made up of the enzyme bromelain that helps lessen sinus infections and irritation.
At the end of the day, the best gift you can give your friend or family member is the gift of health. They’ll appreciate the thought you put into these gifts that may make this allergy season less irritating while they enjoy all the wonder that winter brings.
Help your loved ones end the year the right way with these thoughtful stocking stuffers. But if their sinuses do not improve before the end of the year, our McAllen sinus relief specialists of the Glatz Group are always glad to help. A consultation with Dr. Frank R. Glatz can determine if you are eligible to receive a balloon sinuplasty, a procedure that can help relieve chronic sinusitis.
Oh when the weather outside is frightful, those allergies aren’t so delightful.
You may think the allergy symptoms you’re experiencing are just another case of the common cold, but if they persist as the season passes, then odds are that you may be suffering from winter allergies.
Though many trees, grasses, flowers, and weeds stop producing pollen during the winter, it doesn’t lessen your risk of being exposed to indoor allergies caused by you spending more time indoors. According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, millions of people have allergy symptoms year-round as a result of indoor allergens.
Today, our McAllen balloon sinuplasty specialists at the Glatz Group are glad to explain how winter can affect your allergies, as well as provide a few helpful tips on how to protect yourself! Don’t let this holiday season go by without giving yourself the gift of sinus relief.
It is important to know the differences in symptoms between a cold and allergies.
A cold should typically last no more than several days to a week while the effects of allergies can last up to several weeks. Allergy symptoms include watery and itchy eyes, whereas a cold does not. Allergies can happen at any time throughout the year while colds are more likely to occur during spring or winter.
However, when it comes to indoor allergens, they are what can trigger your winter allergies. The most common sources are dust mites, mold, and even your very own pet.
If you’re suffering from allergies this winter, consider these tips to protect yourself from these common indoor allergens:
1. Dust Mites - These microscopic creatures thrive in warm, damp environments like bedding, upholstered furniture, and carpeting. To best protect yourself and your family from these little but insufferable creatures:
2. Mold - Molds can easily gather up inside and outside your home if you live in a humid area. Molds love to grow in moist areas such as your kitchen and bathroom, whether you can see them or not. Wipe down wet surfaces to keep mold from thickening. With good insulation, the mold can be reduced from less condensation on cold surfaces. Make sure to also clean your garbage cans and fridge drawers regularly to prevent mold from growing in these places.
3. Pets - It’s important to remember that even as a pet lover, you’ll have to make some sacrifices to manage your allergies or those of a loved one in your home. When it comes to minimizing indoor allergens caused by your pet:
If you have pet allergies, you may want to speak with your primary physician to see if you are eligible for allergy immunotherapy shots.
There are a plethora of different options in regards to allergy relief which are both short-term and long-term. Some short-term remedies include over-the-counter medications that will provide allergy relief for a couple of days. A few of the most popular medications include oral antihistamines, nasal sprays, and decongestants.
If any of these short-term options don’t work for your symptoms, you may want to consider a long-term treatment plan, like balloon sinuplasty.
Find out what treatment is right for your case by consulting with our McAllen otolaryngologist, Dr. Frank R. Glatz at the Glatz Group, to adequately recommend medication and/or services based on your needs.
Balloon sinuplasty is a safe and efficient operation meant to slightly alter the affected sinus passageways and help them drain better without requiring any removal of bone or tissue. The procedure is generally done for those who suffer from severe cases of chronic sinusitis and is a relatively fast process that can be administered by our trusted ENT in our Glatz Group McAllen office.
In order to figure out if your symptoms qualify for a balloon sinuplasty, schedule a consultation with our McAllen sinus relief specialists of the Glatz Group today.
If your past year has been full of sinus pain, massive headaches, and stuffy noses due to chronic sinus infections, now’s the time to be proactive and avoid another year of discomfort.
According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology, Americans spend roughly more than $1 billion every year on over-the-counter medications to treat their sinus infection (sinusitis). Sinus infections are also accountable for 16 million doctor visits and $150 million spent on prescription medications.
While treatment via allergy medications or nasal surgeries may be viable options, balloon sinuplasty is typically the best, cost-effective method to get the long-term relief you are looking for in the new year. Count on Dr. Frank R. Glatz of the Glatz Group, a dedicated and trustworthy McAllen ENT, to explain the three reasons why December is the ideal time to have this procedure.
Balloon sinuplasty, also commonly referred to as the smart sinus practice, is usually most recommended to those who experience chronic sinusitis, which can be a real pain in the nose. It is a brief and easy process where an ENT dilates or enlarges the natural openings of your sinuses through the employment of a tube-like device that then inflates a tiny balloon inside your sinus passages.
Once the doctor deflates and retrieves the balloon, the sinuses stay open to let fluid drain and allow more air to flow through. The results of this procedure will last much longer than if you were to receive traditional nasal surgery. In addition, there is less bleeding, scarring, and post-operative pain with a balloon sinuplasty when compared with the alternative.
In fact, most people are able to go back to their daily lives within a day or two, just in time for some holiday shopping and festive celebrations.
Winter months in McAllen leave us more prone to getting colds and other viruses as the season starts to get colder and we spend more time indoors than normal--especially with January being the coolest month of the year in Texas.
Getting balloon sinuplasty ahead of the new year would decrease the magnitude of sinus infections throughout the year since it would open up the sinus passageways and allow drainage caused by allergens, bacteria, or viruses to have an easier time passing through.
Other reasons to think about having this simple balloon sinuplasty include:
If you want to evaluate if balloon sinuplasty would be the best option to treat your chronic sinusitis or other nasal conditions, visit our McAllen ENT doctor of the Glatz Group to see if you qualify for balloon sinuplasty. If eligible, balloon sinuplasty can be safely administered by our ENT doctor and staff in our very own office.
There are many myths surrounding balloon sinuplasty that make it harder for patients to get the help that they truly need. In truth, this method avoids the use of invasive surgical tools and techniques that cut and/or remove tissue or break bone, letting the recipient recover quickly with minimal pain, if any.
However, with newer technology and techniques come fantastical myths about why one should avoid them. Today, your friendly McAllen ENT, Dr. Frank R. Glatz of the Glatz Group, is debunking these myths to determine if getting a balloon sinuplasty is right for you.
Fact: Balloon sinuplasty is one of the most routinely performed sinus surgeries, where approximately 535,000 people have been treated using this procedure worldwide since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2005. Balloon sinuplasty continues to become the preferred method of sinus relief, as a 2017 study conducted by the Oakland Medical Center revealed that this procedure increased significantly in usage by an average of 59 percent between 2011 through 2014.
While it is a breakthrough alternative to traditional sinus surgeries, it certainly isn’t an experimental procedure.
Fact: No. Most patients see no external changes as a result of their balloon sinuplasty. Since the procedure doesn’t involve any cutting, less than 0.1 percent of cases see complications. It also won’t result in any bruising, discoloration, or black eyes.
Fact: Before the small, latex-free balloon is inserted, your sinus doctor will administer either a local or general anesthetics in an effort to eliminate any pain during this safe procedure. After the procedure, your sinus doctor may recommend an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory to help with any mild discomfort or irritation.
Because this procedure doesn’t cut into your sinuses or cause a lot of bleeding, there is no need to pack gauze into your nasal cavity as well--a process that can cause significant pain and pressure in patients when removing.
Fact: Most patients only need one to two days for recovery before they are ready to return to their regular activities; however, many other sinus or nasal surgeries involve a long and painful recovery period, often requiring weeks to months of recovery time.
With a balloon sinuplasty, there is no need to visit an operating room, stay overnight at the hospital, or enter any kind of rehabilitation program. This innovation of nasal relief is an in-and-out type of procedure.
Fact: Balloon sinuplasty is highly effective, so much so that most patients who undergo this procedure report significant improvement and have no need to repeat it. If a patient does return, often it is to perform the procedure on other sinus openings that weren’t previously treated.
While some other nasal surgeries can cause scarring that may need to be revisited in further surgeries, this isn’t a necessity with balloon sinuplasty.
Fact: Balloon sinuplasty is an in-office, non-invasive procedure that avoids all of the other charges and expenses that would be present on a standard hospital bill.
Because of this, its cost is significantly lower than that of traditional sinus surgeries. It doesn’t require a hospital stay and is covered by most private insurance companies as well as Medicare.
In order to determine if you are a good candidate for a balloon sinuplasty, set up a consultation with our sinus relief specialists at the Glatz Group. While you may be a candidate for the procedure, certain nasal conditions or restrictions may prevent you from having the procedure performed.
