SE LA Times

• One of the main triggers of sinusitis is allergies, and summer allergies are right around the corner.
• There are minimally invasive treatment options available to sinusitis sufferers.
• Dr. Matt Hershcovitch and his team at SoCal Breathe Free can help to nip your sinusitis and allergy issues in the bud before they cause you to cancel your summer plans.

Summer is quickly approaching, and it's almost time for traveling, backyard barbecues and, unfortunately for some, sinusitis and allergies. While your symptoms might put a damper on your plans, Dr. Matt Hershcovitch of SoCal Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers says his team can help.

"Sinus patients have a chronic problem," Hershcovitch told Southeast LA Times. "Many of them have been suffering with sinus problems and allergies for years and years, and some of them have been resigned to the fact that there is no cure and it's just something that they would have to live with -- when, in fact, there is a cure. It's something that can be improved, and they do not have to live suffering anymore with all the unfortunate symptoms that go along with it."

Spring allergies may be on their way out, as trees and flowers are largely finished blooming, but summer allergies caused by weeds and grasses are the next ones to worry about, according to WebMD. One of the most common triggers in the summer is ragweed, which not only affects the areas in which it grows, but it can travel hundreds of miles on the wind as well.

There are minimally invasive treatment options available, including balloon sinuplasty, a simple, in-office procedure that only takes about an hour, according to sinussurgeryoptions.com. The prep lasts about 30 minutes and uses a local anesthetic that is applied to the nose for comfort. A thin instrument with a balloon attached is then guided through the sinus cavity, and then the balloon is inflated for five seconds with saline and, with the sinuses open, the balloon is removed.

Hershcovitch and his team at SoCal Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers can help to treat your sinus issues before they ruin your plans for the summer. The clinic offers balloon sinuplasty, in addition to other sinus, allergy, sleep and snoring, and ENT (ear, nose and throat) treatments. SoCal Breathe Free is Southern California’s leader in treating sinus and allergy issues. Hershcovitch provides ENT services to help patients of all ages.

To learn more about the symptoms of sinusitis and allergies, take this Sinus Self-Assessment Quiz.