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<\/p>\nClearing the air: Orlando doctor outlines difference between seasonal allergies and asthma<\/p>\n
Orlando Health pulmonologist Dr. Sarah Cheyney outlines the signs, symptoms and available treatment options<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWE\u2019RE IN THE FULL SWING OF SPRING. THAT\u2019S WHAT I\u2019M TRYING TO SAY. AND THIS TIME OF YEAR, PEOPLE ARE DEALING WITH MORE COUGHING, SNEEZING AND SNIFFLING THAN WE TYPICALLY EXPERIENCE. EXPERTS SAY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE SEASONAL ALLERGIES AND ASTHMA CAN BE CONFUSING, BECAUSE THE SYMPTOMS REALLY ARE SIMILAR. SO TO HELP CLEAR THE AIR AND GET YOU CLOSER TO FINDING SOME RELIEF, WE\u2019VE GOT ORLANDO HEALTH DOCTOR SARA CHENEY. GREAT TO SEE YOU, DOCTOR. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SO THIS SPRING WE\u2019RE DEALING WITH WHAT WE BELIEVE ARE ALLERGIES. BUT THIS COULD BE ASTHMA. AND I GUESS THE BIG THING HERE IS HOW DO WE KNOW. IT\u2019S A GOOD QUESTION. ASTHMA AND ALLERGY SYMPTOMS CAN BE REALLY SIMILAR. BUT THE MECHANISM BETWEEN OR THAT CAUSES THEM IS VERY DIFFERENT. ALLERGIES IS AN OVERREACTION OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM TO REALLY HARMLESS ALLERGENS LIKE POLLEN AND DANDER. HOWEVER, ASTHMA IS MORE OF AN INFLAMMATORY DISORDER THAT AFFECTS THE LUNGS, CAUSES NARROWING OF THE AIRWAYS, AS WELL AS EXCESSIVE MUCUS PRODUCTION, RIGHT? SO IT CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS. YES, IT CAN. AND ARE THOSE THINGS THAT TRIGGER ALLERGIES, THE POLLEN, PET DANDER, THINGS THAT TRIGGER ASTHMA AS WELL? YES. SO NOT ALL WHO HAVE ALLERGIES HAVE ASTHMA, BUT COMMONLY THOSE WHO HAVE ASTHMA HAVE HORRIBLE ALLERGIES. YEAH. OKAY. SO LET\u2019S TALK ABOUT THE SIGNS, THE SYMPTOMS. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS THAT PEOPLE NEED TO LOOK AT TO, TO DETERMINE IF MAYBE THEY DO SUFFER FROM ASTHMA. YES. SO WITH ASTHMA, COMMON THINGS THAT CAN TRIGGER THAT INFLAMMATION IN THE LUNGS AND CAUSE SYMPTOMS OF SHORTNESS OF BREATH, WHEEZING AND COUGHING FITS THINGS THAT TRIGGER THAT CAN BE THE SAME AS POLLEN THAT GOES AROUND, BUT ALSO THINGS LIKE CIGARETTE SMOKE AND EVEN LAUNDRY DETERGENT. OH, WOW. YEAH. AND THAT STRONG FRAGRANCE, YOU START NOTICING SOME THINGS AND IS, IS THE ASTHMA SUFFERER GOING TO DEAL WITH SOMETHING MORE LIKE A LIKE A WHEEZE? I SEEM TO REMEMBER MY BROTHER HAD HAD A LITTLE BIT OF THAT WHEN HE WAS YOUNG AND THEN OUTGREW IT. IS THAT A THING? YES. SO IT\u2019S VERY COMMON THAT PATIENTS IN MY CLINIC WILL HAVE ASTHMA AS A CHILD. IT GOES AWAY IN HIGH SCHOOL AS COLLEGE AND THEN COMES BACK IN THE LATE 20S OR 30S. THEY START TO NOTICE SHORTNESS OF BREATH, WHEEZING AGAIN WHERE THEY DIDN\u2019T HAVE BEFORE, OR EVEN SYMPTOMS LIKE FREQUENT BRONCHITIS. AND SO WHAT DO YOU SAY WE NEED TO DO IF ANY OF THOSE SYMPTOMS FEEL LIKE THEY\u2019RE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN THAN ASTHMA, ALLERGIES AND MAYBE ASTHMA, IF YOU FIND YOURSELF HAVING THIS KIND OF OVER RESPONSE TO ALLERGIES WHERE SYMPTOMS ARE MORE SEVERE, YOU\u2019RE HAVING THOSE SQUEAKS AND WHEEZING, IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO SEE YOUR ORLANDO HEALTH PROVIDER AND EVALUATE IT FOR MAYBE UNDERLYING ASTHMA. YEAH. YOU KNOW, LAST KIND OF THING FOR US ALL HERE, YOU KNOW, WE\u2019RE IN SPRING AND WE\u2019RE DEALING WITH ALLERGIES, MAYBE EVEN ASTHMA. WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR PATIENTS THAT YOU\u2019RE SEEING THIS TIME OF YEAR? VERY GOOD QUESTION. RIGHT. IT\u2019S HARD BECAUSE OF FLORIDA AND VERY TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT OF FLORIDA TO AVOID AVOID POLLEN. BUT THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO TO AVOID TRIGGERING THE SYMPTOMS, AS WELL AS SEEING A PROVIDER AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU\u2019RE GETTING THAT INFLAMMATION UNDER CONTROL. WE HAVE A LOT OF TREATMENTS NOW. THERE\u2019S BEEN A HUGE EXPAND IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS WHERE ASTHMA SYMPTOMS CAN BE REALLY MANAGED AND BREATHING CAN GO BACK TO NORMAL. OKAY. AND DO ASTHMA SUFFERERS NEED TO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE AN INHALER WITH THEM ALL THE TIME? YEAH. BASED ON THEIR SYMPTOMS AND THE SEVERITY OF IT, YES. THERE ARE THINGS THAT RESCUE INHALERS, BUT IT\u2019S IMPORTANT THAT THEY ALSO HAVE MAINTENANCE TREATMENT THAT STOPS THIS INFLAMMATION FROM OCCURRING OVER AND OVER AGAIN. IF YOU DON\u2019T DEAL WITH THAT, INFLAMMATION CAN ACTUALLY LEAD TO PERMANENT AND LASTING LUNG DAMAGE. THAT IS WHAT WE DON\u2019T WANT TO HAVE. SO LET\u2019S TALK ABOUT SEEING A PHYSICIAN, SOMEONE AT ORLANDO HEALTH. HOW DO THEY REACH OUT TO YOU AND THE TEAM THERE? YEAH. SO GOING TO ORLANDO HEALTH WEBSITE, I WORK SPECIFICALLY WITH THE LUNG SLEEP CLINIC. AND SO WE\u2019RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO SEE PATIENTS COME IN. MY PANEL. EXACTLY. MOSTLY IS ASTHMA IS WHAT WE DO AND VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT. AND THAT IS GOING TO IMPACT OUR SLEEP, WHICH MEANS THAT WE\u2019RE NOT AS HEALTHY AS WE SHOULD BE IN SOME OTHER AREAS. ISSUES. OH, VERY MUCH SO. EVEN ASTHMA PATIENTS TYPICALLY HAVE COUGHING FITS AT NIGHT TIME, WHICH IS ALSO A SIGN THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME UNDERLYING ASTHMA, TOO. A LOT OF GREAT THINGS FOR US TO LOOK OUT FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR, ESPECIALLY TO DETERMINE ALLERGIE\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Clearing the air: Orlando doctor outlines difference between seasonal allergies and asthma<\/p>\n
Orlando Health pulmonologist Dr. Sarah Cheyney outlines the signs, symptoms and available treatment options<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 9:29 AM EDT Apr 14, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n