The window to get ahead of fall allergy season closes around August 15.

Quick question: are you still taking the same allergy medication you were taking last year?

If yes — and it's working less well than it used to — you're not imagining it, and it's not tolerance. Antihistamines don't stop working. Your exposure is increasing.

Ragweed season starts in mid-August across most of the country and runs through the first hard frost. A single ragweed plant releases about a billion pollen grains, and those grains travel hundreds of miles on wind. This is the season that catches people who thought they only had "spring allergies."

The mistake almost everyone makes

Waiting until symptoms start.

By the time you're congested, your nasal passages are already inflamed, and medication has to work backward against established inflammation instead of preventing it. Allergists recommend starting treatment two to three weeks before your season begins — which, for ragweed, means right now.

If you've spent the last several summers cycling through Zyrtec, Claritin, and Flonase without lasting relief, the issue isn't which pill you picked. It's that you're treating symptoms downstream of a problem nobody has diagnosed.

What you probably haven't done

Most people with allergies have never had an actual allergy test. They self-diagnosed off a pharmacy aisle and have been guessing ever since.

A blood allergy test identifies exactly which trees, grasses, weeds, molds, and indoor allergens your immune system reacts to. Not a category — the specific species. That single piece of information changes what treatment makes sense for you. It's the difference between managing symptoms indefinitely and treating the cause.

About the cost — the part nobody explains

This is the question we get most, so here's a direct answer.

HeyAllergy accepts Medicare and most major PPO plans, including United Healthcare, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, Oscar, and Tricare. For most insured patients, a telemedicine consultation costs the same as a specialist copay — often $0 to $50.

If you want to know your exact number before committing to anything, call your insurance provider and give them our Tax ID: 85-0834175. Ask specifically about telemedicine benefits for allergy and immunology. Takes about five minutes and you'll know exactly where you stand.

Or start the booking process and we'll verify your coverage before you're charged anything:

If you'd rather skip the guesswork entirely

HeyPak® allergy drops start at $47/month. They're sublingual immunotherapy — daily drops under the tongue, custom-mixed to your specific allergen results, delivered to your door. No needles, no clinic visits. Most patients notice improvement in 3–6 months.

One last thing: if you have a question about your specific situation, just reply to this email. A real person on our team reads these, and if it's a clinical question we'll get it in front of one of our allergists.

Talk soon,
The HeyAllergy Team
Dr. Krikor Manoukian, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI — Medical Director