Picking an allergy medication in the pharmacy can feel like throwing darts at a board. Plus, you’ll need to make sure that the medication or dose – even if its over-the-counter – doesn’t interact with drugs you’re taking for diabetes or other conditions, says Melanie Dispenza, an allergist at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

Seeing a qualified allergist, is your best bet for identifying exactly what you’re allergic to and ensuring safe and effective treatment.

If your doctor recommends starting a steroid to gain control of severe symptoms, check in with your allergist or endocrinologist first if you may be pre-diabetic or diabetic.

“Extra steroid use may increase blood glucose levels,” says Alice Hoyt, an allergist at the Cleveland Clinic. That said, there’s conflicting data on how much nasal steroid sprays impact blood glucose, she says.

So, your allergist may want to take you on a supervised trial run of the medication before you begin to take it regularly.

Because antihistamines are so familiar, you may feel more comfortable taking these multiple times a day to manage symptoms. However, “these can make you very groggy to the point where you can fall asleep and miss a meal or a blood [glucose] check [for individuals with conditions such as diabetes],” says Hoyt, and both can be dangerous.

A better option is a second-generation longer-acting antihistamine like cetirizine (e.g. Zyrtec), fexofenadine (e.g., Telfast) or loratadine (e.g., Claratyne), which are taken just once per day and won’t be sedating, she says.

You may feel overwhelmed by the schedule of meds that goes with managing both diabetes and allergies. Immunotherapy – a regimen of shots given over the course of three to five years – can decrease the need for allergy medications for patients with severe symptoms, says Hoyt.

Allergy shots require a big time commitment and, depending on your insurance coverage, can be costly, so talk with your allergist to weigh these factors against the length of your allergy season and the effectiveness of your current treatment strategy.

One goal of allergy treatment is to help you to feel well enough so you can stay active and enjoy the outdoors, says Dispenza.

That’s why it’s important to take your allergy medications if your allergist recommends them. If you’re allergic to pollen, you can also check pollen counts – this can be done on a weather app on your phone.

When counts are high, consider moving your workout indoors: walk through a shopping centre or try out a class at your local gym or recreation centre. By learning to pivot when you need to, you can participate in the activities you love and enjoy the season, despite your allergies.