Pensacola Times

• Allergy symptoms include sneezing, a stuffy or runny nose, watery eyes and an itchy nose, eyes or mouth.
• Allergy symptoms, such as itchy eyes, can be caused by inflammation.
• Some treatments options include over-the-counter medications, nasal sprays and immunotherapy.

More than 50 million Americans are suffering from allergies every year, and allergies are the sixth-most-common cause of chronic illness in the U.S., according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Allergic rhinitis, also known as hay fever, can be either seasonal or perennial and can cause sneezing, a stuffy or runny nose, watery eyes and an itchy nose, eyes, or mouth.

In adults, chronic sinusitis is often linked to nasal swelling caused by allergies, especially allergies to inhaled dust, mold, pollen or the spores of fungi, according to Harvard Medical School.

Allergy symptoms such as itchy eyes can be caused by inflammation, which is a result of the body attempting to protect itself from allergens, according to MBG Health. When someone is exposed to an allergen, the body's natural stress response is to secrete hormones such as cortisol and chemicals like histamine, but studies have shown that those secretions can lead to inflammation, which in turn makes allergy symptoms, as well as asthma, even worse.

"Allergies are a condition where your body reacts to an allergen in the environment, especially in your nose," Dr. Matthew Blair of Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers told Pensacola Times. "Your nose is covered with a mucous membrane similar to your mouth. And there's these cells within your nose called mast cells, and they release something called histamine. And histamine is what gives you this overall reaction of itchy eyes, itchy nose, sneezing, clear watery mucus and just stuffiness, that generally uncomfortable feeling that you may get. It also causes swelling in the tissues in the nose, and they can block openings to the sinuses if you're a chronic allergy sufferer."

Depending on the type and severity of your allergies, your doctor could recommend various treatment options, according to Mayo Clinic. Some treatments options are over-the-counter medications, nasal sprays, immunotherapy or -- for very severe allergies, carrying an emergency epinephrine shot -- such as an EpiPen.

Readers experiencing sinus issues are invited to take a Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz from Gulf Coast Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers.