Allergies this time of year are acommon trend among U students.But many of the Utah plants thatcause allergies are foreign to studentswho come from other states or countries,said Allen Bitner, an allergist atthe Intermountain Allergy Clinic.Such is the case with sophomoreSana Muller, who came here fromIdaho two years ago.”I felt sick. I thought it was a coldat first, but then it continued,” Mullersaid. She went to a doctor who toldher to take over-the-counter Claritin.There are a variety of over-thecounterand prescription medicationsfor allergies, but students s aythey have a hard time finding one towork.”I used to take Zyrtec, but when Itake it, it makes me so sleepy. It feelslike you’ve just got out of bed all thetime,” said Matt Hansen, a junior.Many allergy medications such asBenadryl will cause drowsiness, butit’s important to have the correct ingredientsin the medicine.”An anti-histamine makes it so yourbody can’t release histamine, which iswhat causes the sneezing and runnyeyes,” said Christina Hackett, a pharmacistat the U hospital.Hackett recommends a genericover-the-counter brand of Claritinbecause, “it has the same strength asprescription medicine,” but is a lotcheaper.The generic version sells 30 pillsfor $9.99. Prescription medicines Allegraand Zyrtec are $77 and $65 for 30pills, respectively, Hackett said.In full swingThe big issue right now for all studentsis that March to May is tree-allergyseason, and so the majority ofthe pollen-causing problems comes fromjuniper, cedar, cottonwood and mapletrees, according to Bitner.In May and June, grass and hay causeallergies. During the fall, sagebrush is amajor allergy problem, he said.Junior Matt Hansen pauses to sneezeinto a white handkerchief. For the pastthree days he has been feeling the effectsof spring allergies.Hansen is not alone.”Up to 20 percent of the populationhas allergies,” said Bitner.The cause of most allergies can betraced to an “overactive” immune system.”When [people with allergies] are e xposedto things in the air, their immunesystem will react. They get sneezing,runny eyes and headaches,” Bitner said.For some students like Hansen, allergiesare just an annoying part of life. “Irun on the track team, and I can still dothat-I’ll sneeze in between intervals orsomething,” Hansen said.Not everyone can live a normal lifewith allergies, according to Bitner.”Some people feel physically ill-thereare literally millions of work days misseddue to allergies,” Bitner said. “If an individualis having to modify their activitiesbecause of allergies, there is a reason tosee an allergist.”He added that because there are somany different things that cause allergies,it is possible for a person to havethe symptoms all year long.To find out what medicine works best,those suffering from allergies can get aprick test to find out what that person isallergic to.To do the test, the doctor will injectsmall amounts of an allergen into apatient’s back. If the patient is allergicto the allergen, it will cause the skin toswell.For more information on allergies,visit: http://my.webmd.com/medical_information/condition_centers/allergies/[email protected]