If you suffer from summer allergies, you may experience symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing, and congestion. Seasonal allergies can make a person miserable. Before you opt for artificial turf and plastic flowers, you should try the following strategies to control your allergies:
Reduce Exposure
You can minimize your exposure to the things that cause allergies by doing the following:
- Delegating lawn mowing and other gardening activities that usually stir up allergens
- Wearing a pollen mask when working outside
- Staying in the house on dry, windy days. You can go outside after it rains because the air is much clearer then
- When you get home, remove clothes that you had worn and take a shower to remove pollen from your skin
Take Precaution
Seasonal allergies usually flare up when pollen is excessive in the air. You can reduce your pollen exposure by doing the following:
- Avoiding outdoor activities in the morning because that is when the pollen count is highest
- Check local radio and TV stations for current pollen levels to ensure that you do not venture out when there is a high pollen count.
- When the pollen count is high, you should keep your doors and windows shut.
- Whenever there is a forecast for high pollen count, you should take allergy medications immediately instead of waiting for symptoms to show.
Keep Indoor Air Clean
A miracle product that can get rid of allergens completely does not exist. However, these suggestions can help:
- If you have an HVAC system, you should use high-efficiency filters and follow frequent maintenance schedules.
- Clean your floors as often as possible with a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter.
- Use an AC in your car and house
- Remove humidity from your house using a dehumidifier.
Rinse Your Sinuses
You can relieve nasal congestion by rinsing your sinuses with a saline solution. When you do a saline rinse, you will flush out allergens and mucus from your nose. If you are afraid to rinse your own sinuses, you should consider visiting professionals such as ENT doctors and sinus doctors.
However, if you are willing to try, you can look for a squeeze bottle with a spout that can rinse your nose at a pharmacy. Make sure that you use distilled, boiled, or sterile water to rinse your nose. Do not use hot water to rinse your sinuses, let it cool first.
After each use, make sure that you rinse your neti pot or squeeze bottle with distilled, boiled, or sterile water. Once you rinse it, leave the irrigation pot to air dry.
Use Over-the-Counter Medication
You can ease your allergy symptoms by using non-prescription meds such as:
Decongestants – an oral decongestant such as pseudoephedrine has the ability to provide some relief from stuffiness, albeit temporarily. Nowadays, some decongestants come in the form of nasal sprays. However, you should only use a decongestant for several consecutive days. Using it for a longer period can make the symptoms worse.
Combination Meds – some meds are a combination of decongestants and antihistamines. You can use these for instant relief.
Antihistamines – they work by relieving itching, sneezing, watery eyes, and runny noses. Oral antihistamines include cetirizine and loratadine.
Nasal sprays – some nasal sprays such as cromolyn sodium can alleviate symptoms without side effects. However, you have to start using it before your symptoms show to see results.
Conclusion
To keep summer allergies at bay, you need to clean your indoor air, reduce your exposure to allergens, take extra care when the pollen count is high, rinse your sinuses, and use over-the-counter meds.
