Spring is here, the flowers are blooming, the leaves are popping out, and everything is greening up. Sounds wonderful except for the pollen that comes with it. For those suffering from spring allergies, symptoms can range from sneezing, congestion, runny nose, watery eyes, and itchy nose or eyes. Allergies can also trigger asthma symptoms when pollen counts gets particularly high.
Thankfully, you can get relief from spring allergies. The best thing to do is to talk to a certified allergist to come up with a plan on how best to treat your allergies. This treatment may include taking allergy medications, use of a nasal corticosteroid spray, or taking allergy shots.
Some things you can do to minimize the effect of pollen-based allergies. These include:
- Check the pollen/allergy information provided by your weather service such as The Weather Network and avoid heading outdoors when the pollen count is high.
- Keep your windows closed
- Use a central air conditioner with a certified asthma and allergy friendly HVAC filter.
- Remove your shoes before entering your home
- Take a shower and wash your hair before going to bed.
- Change and wash your clothes after being outside
- Do not dry your clothes outside, use a clothes dryer or hang the clothes inside.
- Clean pollen off pets with a towel before they come into your home
- Wash bedding in hot, soapy water once a week
- Use a nasal rinse to flush any pollen out of your nose
When you do venture outside consider…
- Wearing sunglasses and a hat to reduce pollen getting in your eyes and hair
- Wear a mask while cutting the lawn or doing yard work
- Avoid going out during peak pollen times
- Set your car air conditioner to the “recirculate air” mode to limit outside air from coming into the car.
https://community.aafa.org/blog/tips-for-coping-with-spring-allergies
