Charlotte Allergies | Matthew Sicard, MD, on The Daily Two

CEENTA ENT physician Matthew Sicard, MD, appeared on WSOC's The Daily Two on September 23rd, 2024 to discuss fall allergy relief in Charlotte and the surrounding areas. Learn more about allergy symptoms, testing, and treatment options and schedule your next appointment with Dr. Sicard in Matthews online or through myCEENTAchart.

Transcript of the Interview

Laura Palka: The Daily Two is brought to you by Charlotte Eye Ear Nose & Throat Associates.
Welcome to The Daily Two, I'm Laura Paula. And we're on location today at CEENTA's Matthews location talking all things allergies with Dr. Michael Sicard. Thanks for being here today. So tell us what allergies are prevalent in the Charlotte area this time of the year.
Dr. Michael Sicard: So this is fall, so here come the weeds. Every good gardener knows the weeds start propagating in the fall. So ragweed is the dominant allergen but other inhalant weeds as well from August through October, maybe November.
Laura: And what exactly happens in your nose and your sinuses when you have allergies?
Dr. Sicard: Yeah, so there are fixed abnormalities. None of us have a perfectly straight septum, which is the middle partition, the curtain through the nose, and then the outside is the variable part: the turbinates. These little wings of tissue come off the outside. And because of injuries, from allergens, or infections, they swell.
Laura: When someone comes in the office, how do you diagnose whether it truly is an allergy?
Dr. Sicard: Yeah, that's the important part. You have to get to the accurate diagnosis to get to a proper treatment. So both the anatomy, which we can do a diagnostic endoscopy, imaging, CT scans we can perform in the office to look for chronic infections. And then allergy testing - skin testing - will help us with allergens.
Laura: Talk about the treatment options that you offer here.
Dr. Sicard: Yeah, many different treatment options, all starting with the proper diagnosis. So allergy therapy, we have a variety of different ways of treating that. The subcutaneous immunotherapy allergy shots, sublingual immunotherapy, and also some pharmaceutical products. The other parts of that, and the anatomy of course can be surgically changed if need be, and there are some devices that are now available to control some of the swelling and some of the drainage from the nose.
Laura: Are most people going to suffer from allergies at some point in their life?
Dr. Sicard: It's a beautiful place to live, but yes. Charlotte is renowned for its allergies. So some varying degree, variable degrees of tolerance and then treatment.
Laura: Alright, Doctor, thank you so much for all the great information today. We really appreciate it. And if you would like to learn more, you can go to ceenta.com to make an appointment. For The Daily Two, I'm Laura Palka.