Baltimore City Wire

• Grass is the biggest allergy trigger in the Maryland summer season.
• Allergies triggered by sinusitis lead to mouth breathing, which leads to airway disorders.

• Patients struggling with sinusitis and allergies are encouraged to seek minimally invasive treatment from a specialist for a better quality of life.

With Maryland allergies being 10 months of the year, it's likely that those with sinusitis are having to deal with extra inflammation, especially in the summer. Dr. Jamie Oberman, of Frederick Breathe Free, said he always tests for allergies when treating sinusitis, because that could be the reason for nasal inflammation.

"You approach [sinus pathology] by the anatomy, which is addressed with either conventional surgery or minimally invasive, like balloon sinuplasty," Oberman said. "If it's narrowed, make it more open and ventilate it, but there's also the lining part of it, and that's usually inflamed from a significant amount of time from allergens. We always test. Not everybody who has inflammation has allergies, but you should never exclude that because if you do have them, they're easy to treat."

Allergies in Maryland can run anywhere from from late February to November, according to Wyndly. The main thing to look out for this time of year in the area is Bermuda grass.

According to Mayo Clinic, the immune system's response to fighting off allergens involves releasing chemicals that can lead to a runny nose, congestion or skin reactions, and those responses can affect the airways, triggering asthma symptoms. Allergy treatments such as immunotherapy can reduce your body's reaction to allergens over time, which will in turn decrease asthma symptoms.

People who suffer from allergies or chronic sinus problems are more likely to breathe through their mouths, but mouth breathing can lead to oral health issues, according to McCarl Dental Group. Mouth breathing dries up saliva, which then allows bacteria and plaque to build up on the teeth, which can cause cavities, gum disease and chronic bad breath. 

Regularly breathing through the mouth can also, over time, lead to strained jaw joints, snoring, sleep apnea, enlarged tonsils and a higher risk for airway disorders, such as asthma, McCarl Dental Group reported.

For sinusitis patients who struggle with allergies, there's minimally invasive treatment options that can provide long lasting results. One of these treatment options is the balloon sinuplasty, which is a safe and minimally invasive procedure utilized by surgeons to address chronic sinusitis, according to Nuffield Health. During the process, doctors insert a guide wire equipped with a small balloon into the nostrils and navigate it to the area of blockage.