Tuesday, March 20, 2018 03:00 AM

SATURDAY, March 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- With spring allergy[1] season just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about how to deal with your symptoms, experts say.

"Bottom line, very few people suffer from the same allergies[2] or symptoms," Dr. Bradley Chipps, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), said in a news release from the organization.

"You have to create a personal treatment plan by first avoiding the things you're allergic[3] to, and then treating your specific symptoms," he said.

"The question for many people is whether over-the-counter[4] remedies are enough, or if prescription medications are needed," Chipps said.

New guidelines from ACAAI recommend "nasal steroid sprays as the first line of defense, instead of an oral antihistamine[5]," said Dr. Dana Wallace, the organization's past president and a co-author of the guidelines.

"The task force didn't find ...