Serving Safety Harbor
Allergy & Sinus Care for Safety Harbor
Living on Old Tampa Bay is wonderful for almost everything except your sinuses. We find out what is actually causing it.
Beautiful water, difficult air
Safety Harbor sits on the western shore of Old Tampa Bay, wrapped in mangrove, oak and a shoreline that holds moisture the way Philippe Park holds shade. It is one of the loveliest places in Pinellas County to live and one of the more demanding places to have a mold allergy.
Mold and fungus allergy are among the environmental conditions we diagnose and treat, and a warm, humid, low-lying, heavily shaded neighborhood is exactly where indoor and outdoor mold thrives. So do dust mites, which love the heat and humidity of Florida and live year round in mattresses, carpets, pillows and upholstered furniture.
The result is a symptom pattern that does not behave like the pollen allergy people expect. There is no clean season and no obvious start date — just congestion, drainage, throat clearing and headaches that have quietly become normal.
Nasal and environmental allergy, sorted properly
Nasal allergy such as allergic rhinitis is an immune system response to something inhaled — dust, dust mites, pet dander, or tree pollen. It is associated with both food allergy and asthma, which is why a careful evaluation looks wider than the nose. Sher Allergy Specialists diagnoses and treats:
- Allergic rhinitis (hay fever)
- Allergic headaches
- Dust allergy
- Mold allergy and fungus allergy
- Environmental allergies and pet animal allergies
- Snoring
- Vasomotor rhinitis (non-allergic rhinitis)
When it has moved into the sinuses and the eyes
Tooth pain and front headache from sinusitis are painful. They come from sinuses that do not drain mucus properly and then produce bacterial or viral infection. Chronic sinusitis is associated with allergic rhinitis or asthma, and it can cause persistent postnasal drip and chronic cough. We treat sinusitis, nasal polyps and recurrent or chronic infection.
Red, tearing, watery and itchy eyes frequently travel with nasal allergy. Eye allergy triggers include tree pollen, pet dander, dust mites and mold — the same list, reacting in a different tissue.
Rhinoscopy
A flexible fiberoptic scope with a bright light lets our physicians look into the nasal passages, back of the throat and larynx (voice box) — a far more thorough view than an external exam, and the way we find nasal polyps, a deviated septum or another fixed blockage of the upper airway.
Allergy Skin Testing
Maximum diagnostic information with minimum discomfort and risk, usually completed during the initial visit, applying the optimal number of tests for real treatment decisions. At Sher Allergy Specialists, your allergy skin tests are personally measured and read by a physician or physician assistant, with physician oversight and interpretation, rather than simply recorded by a technician or medical assistant for later review.
Environmental Management
After the specific triggers are identified, we recommend an environmental control program. In a bayfront house, simple and cost-effective changes often do a surprising amount of work.
Medical Management
There are safe and effective medications for allergic and asthmatic symptoms, and the doctor will recommend the safest and best therapy for your specific problems — rather than layering another over-the-counter product on top.
The drive west, and who you will see
Safety Harbor sits at the eastern edge of the county beside the Bayside Bridge, so the trip to us runs west rather than north or south: Enterprise Road or State Road 580 across to US-19 and down, or McMullen Booth Road south to Gulf-to-Bay and west through Clearwater to Alternate 19, which becomes Seminole Boulevard. Either way you land at the Largo Professional Center, 11200 Seminole Blvd, Suite 310, with parking on site.
A board-certified Allergist/Immunologist is on site for every visit. Dr. Mandel R. Sher is board certified by the American Board of Allergy & Immunology and the American Board of Pediatrics, is Clinical Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, and is one of the nation’s leading Allergists specially trained in Rhinoscopy.
Dr. Johana Castro Wagner, Allergist/Immunologist, earned her medical degree at Universidad Central De Venezuela, completed her residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Texas, and trained under Dr. Sher in her fellowship at the University of South Florida Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. She leads the Sher Allergy Oral Immunotherapy Clinic for Food including Peanut Allergy and is fluent in Spanish and English.
What treatment looks like once we know
Allergy shots remain the hallmark treatment for a wide variety of allergies. They are all-natural rather than medication, reduce allergy symptoms in over 85% of patients, and are a uniquely powerful allergy therapy that gradually turns off the allergic process rather than muting it. They are given by scheduled appointment with our dedicated allergy shot nurse.
For dust mite, grass or ragweed allergy the oral immunotherapy pill is an alternative, and for disease that has not responded well to traditional treatment — including nasal polyps — biologic therapy such as Dupixent is available. Most Safety Harbor patients end up with a combination: something medical, something environmental, and a clear list of what is actually worth avoiding.
Questions from Safety Harbor patients
Can living near the water really cause allergies?
The water does not cause the allergy, but a warm, humid, shaded environment supports mold and dust mites, which are among the most common indoor allergens we test for. If your symptoms never take a season off, an indoor trigger is a likely part of the story.
I get sinus infections two or three times a year. Is that an allergy problem?
It may well be. Chronic sinusitis is associated with allergic rhinitis and asthma, and sinuses that cannot drain properly go on to become infected. Treating the inflammation underneath is what breaks the cycle — another course of antibiotics does not.
What is a rhinoscopy going to show that a CT scan did not?
A direct, real-time view of the nasal passages and the back of the throat, in the office, during your visit. It is very helpful for evaluating persistent cough, postnasal drip, chronic headaches and recurrent ear infections, and it shows structural blockages such as a deviated septum or polyps.
My eyes are the worst part. Do you treat that?
Yes. Eye allergy, or allergic conjunctivitis, is commonly part of nasal allergy, and it responds to the same trigger identification. Testing tells us whether it is pollen, pet dander, dust mite or mold before anyone chooses a drop.
How do I get there without sitting on US-19?
McMullen Booth Road south to Gulf-to-Bay, west through Clearwater, then south on Alternate 19, which becomes Seminole Boulevard and runs to our door. Many Safety Harbor patients prefer it to the highway.
Get an actual diagnosis, not another guess
Call our friendly Sher Allergy team at 727-397-8557. We will listen to the whole history first and test on the same day whenever we can.
Largo Professional Center
11200 Seminole Blvd #310
Largo, FL 33778
Monday 8:00 - 5:00
Tuesday 9:00 - 6:00
Wednesday 8:00 - 5:00
Thursday 8:00 - 5:00
Friday 8:00 - 12:00