Seasonal allergies affect up to 20% of the population. Moshe Ben-Shoshan says a lot of people who think they have them do not, and the difference between an allergy and an intolerance changes everything about how you treat it.

True allergies are immune system reactions to proteins, typically pollens that shift through the seasons: birch and elder in spring, grass through summer, ragweed into fall. Moshe Ben-Shoshan notes that mugwort, imported from Europe and similar to ragweed, has recently added to the load. For actual allergy sufferers, second-generation antihistamines are the accessible starting point, several available without a prescription.

For longer-term relief, Moshe Ben-Shoshan says immunotherapy works by exposing the immune system to small, standardized amounts of the allergen ahead of season, gradually reducing the reaction when the real season arrives.

Topics: seasonal allergies Canada, pollen types, allergy vs intolerance, antihistamines, immunotherapy

GUEST: Moshe Ben-Shoshan

Originally aired on2026-04-30