10 Tips for Surviving Springtime Allergies
My plane had no sooner touched down at Raleigh/Durham airport than I started sneezing my head off. We were back in the pollen bomb (what I call the abundance of pollen accumulation this time of year.) Here are to Tips for Surviving Springtime Allergies.
My oldest son has severe pollen allergies. This time of year is usually miserable for the poor guy. Over the years we’ve gotten better at managing his symptoms. Besides some preventative prescription allergy medications (that we start before the pollen hits), we’ve also used some simple non-prescription remedies. I’m hoping that some of these tips might help ease your springtime allergy suffering, too.
10 Tips to Surviving Springtime Allergies
1. Limit time outside. Especially on dry days. If you have cabin fever, try to head out early in the morning when the morning dew has washed some of the pollen into the earth. Or after a rain shower.
2. Wear sunglasses when outside to shield your eyes from blowing pollen spores.
3. After being outside, wipe off hair and face with a damp face towel or baby wipe.
4. Remove shoes inside the door. Don’t track pollen throughout the house.
5. Change and wash your sheets more frequently.
6. Steamy showers can really help relieve congestion and wash away excess pollen.
7. Run your A/C or your HVAC system’s fan to circulate and filter the air as much as possible.
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9. Do not use a whole house exhaust fan during peak pollen months. Doing so will pull in the outside pollen-filled air.
10. Eat local honey. Supposedly eating locally collected honey is akin to getting a small allergy shot weekly. This exposes your body to the local pollens and hopefully helps you build up a tolerance for pollen.
Now that you’ve some allergy fighting ideas, head outside and enjoy Spring’s finest knowing that you can minimize your symptoms.
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Having to deal with springtime allergies is very hard. It’s the time of the year that it’s good to be outside but you can’t because you have to manage your allergies.
These are some great tips! My son and I both have allergies and this time of year can get real bad for us! My main tip is to clean out my car often as I spend a lot of time driving for work. Thanks for sharing!
My number 1 tip is to use the neti-pot once a week (at least!) Ever since I started doing this after doctors orders I am practically allergy free. And I am medicine free too which saves me lots of money. 🙂
My daughter has pollen allergies, I didn’t know eating local honey could help, so thanks for this. Going to give it a try.
These tips do help a lot. I have dreadful allergies – I’ve had 2 sinus surgeries – and have found a few other things that help.
1. Mint tea really helps with alertness and decongestion.
2. Chamomile tea can trigger pollen allergies in a lot of people.
3. Quercetin, a natural supplement found in cherries and apples, is a natural anti-inflammatory and, I believe, antihistamine. At any rate I take one with breakfast and one with dinner during pollen season. It doesn’t eliminate my allergy symptoms but it reduces them considerably.
4. Step up the frequency on cleaning and vacuuming the car, too. Some of us spend a lot of time in ours, and pollen blows in, tracks in, etc. really quickly.
These were really great tips! I’ve been reading a lot of spring allergy relief blogs and several of your tips were never mentioned in the others.
Keeping your bedrooms as sterile and clutter free as possible will help. Pollen dusted clothes should not make their way into the bedroom. Mattresses, box springs, and pillows should have allergy covers. Books, stuffed animals and other dust collecting items should be banned during allergy season. An air purifier will help your sleep tremendously. Also, allergy shots will help. Pay your son to try the neti pot. It will help. You can seal your windows with the plastic used for winter air leaks. Ann
This is so timely Brittany! Having moved to Arizona from Colorado, I never had issues with allergies….until now. Yes, everything is blooming so profusely & yes, it’s all so gorgeous but the head & sinus issues do me in. I use the netti pot twice a day & it helps. We don’t have that yellow pollen as you do but there is plenty to keep us all a bit miserable. Thanks for the Filtrete coupon & what a great post. I hope your home & your family is coming along alright with the cleanup.
Love #4 who knew….
Great tips.
I’m one of those asthmatic severe allergic people. This pollen is making life miserable for sure. I suspect (nothing is sure in this year’s wacky weather) that your area is warmer that CT, but my dear hubs, aware of my allergy suffering, put in a window a/c unit in the living room so I can be out here and breathe easier. We have poodles (they have hair not fur, did you know that?) and they bring in pollen. Sonny is supposed to carefully wipe them down after misting them with water but I’m not so sure that’s happening. Anyway, thanks for the reminder about shoes at the door, changing bedding more often, etc. This w.i.l.l. be forwarded to hubs, related to son with autism who wouldn’t get it in writing.. Thanks. Was he the son who’s room was punctured?
Janet
It is sad that such a pretty things cause so many allergies. Thanks for sharing.
Where I live we don’t have any where near as much pollen as you do. WOW and not in a good way. I have found a sinus rinse to be incredibly helpful as well. No, I don’t work for NeilMed 8-).
http://www.neilmed.com/can/sinusrinse_isotonic.php
Great tips! I know people who swear by the honey thing. There’s a meadery (honey wine) in Pittsboro (west of Cary, I work the bar occasionally on weekends) and lots of honey enthusiasts visit. Thank goodness the pollen is finally calming down around here..
A lot of people need this! Darn allergies flare up in the spring.