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RALEIGH – A lot of people are sneezing this time of year. Doctors say it's a good time to go to the allergist and get checked out for possible seasonal triggers to allergies.

“Indoor allergies can really fluctuate and build up during the holidays, particularly a few years ago where you started to notice a trend where people would have fresh Christmas trees. Within five to six days, itchy eyes, irritated noses, scratchy throat, cough, or It can be things such as garlands, wreathes and other things,” Dr. Clifford Bassett said. “During the holidays, you have the fire place going, you8 have the yule log, you also have scented products such as potpourri, fragrance candles, all these things can be irritants during the holidays.”

Dana Cone, who works in the hospitality industry, says party food and holiday meals can be shaky territory for her since she's got such severe allergies.

“There have been times where I've gone to work, they've changed the recipe on the stuffing. I ate it and it was delicious. I'll go home and I'll have to use my epi-pen because there was peanut oil in the stuffing or they used it on the turkey baste or something,” she said.

“Studies indicate about one out of four people think they have a food allergy,” Bassett said. “The incidence of food allergy is a lot lower, and the reason is because people may have a food intolerance, such as lactose intolerance or other conditions, acid reflux that can cause irritation or problems and sometimes it can be easily confused with a food allergy.”

Bassett says it's still best to get tested for allergies. If you need it, you can always have an action plan in place for what to avoid or how to treat allergic reactions.