If you suffer from allergies, here's how you can find relief without a prescription

Allergies to pollen and other chemicals in our environment are extremely common. They affect from 10-30% of people around the world. Chances are good that you or a member of your family is an environmental allergy sufferer who sneezes or wheezes either seasonally or all year round.

The good news is that, over the years, more and more medications that doctors prescribe to treat these allergies can be purchased without a prescription. The bad news is that a roadmap telling you how to use these drugs has not been available - until now.

I call my environmental allergy treatment strategy The IPA Gameplan. No, beer will not control your allergies, but IPA stands for Identification, Prevention, and Aid, both first and lasting.

There are other allergies besides environmental allergies, and many of them are severe or even life-threatening. Such allergies to foods or medications are not the subject of this guide. They should and must be managed carefully by your personal physician or your child's pediatrician.