9 Easy Ways to Reduce Allergy Symptoms

Sing it with us! It’s the most sneeziest time of year. Any takers? No?

Well, either way, allergy season is just around the corner. According to Health Line, approximately 30% of all adults and 40% of all children in the US suffer from some form of seasonal allergic rhinitis, more commonly known as hay fever.

Our bodies are like pollen fighting ninjas, signaling our immune systems to fire up their weapons and man their battle stations every time those pesky plant powders find their way into our nasal passages. The problem is that some people’s immune responses to coming in contact with pollen can be supercharged. For those people, the wonderful time of year when flowers are in bloom and the natural process of pollination is in full swing can be an eye-watering fiasco – literally!

While there is little you can do about the floral fandango that is being danced outside the sanctity of your home, there are some preventative measures that you can put in place to alleviate your symptoms when your weary nose crosses the threshold into your home.

1. Strip Down to Your Skivvies

As soon as you walk through the door, remove your shoes and leave them at the door. Get out of your clothes and toss them in the washer immediately. It’s important not to track any pollen through your home that may have gotten stuck to your clothes or shoes while you were out. If you happen to be taking your fur babies for a walk, be sure to dust them off or invest in pet wipes so that you can wipe them down before they come indoors.

2. Keep Your Clothes Indoors

Keep the pollen-ridden clothes out of your home environment, but keep the clean ones indoors. Hanging your clothes out to dry on a washing line is a recipe for disaster if you suffer from seasonal allergies. The pollen will cling to your wet clothes like they’re a match made in fiber heaven.

3. Wash, Rinse, Repeat – Once a Week

It’s time to switch your washer over from a cold wash to a hot wash. You’ll need to get your washer temperatures up to at least 130 degrees in order to kill off any potential organic matter, including dust mites that run rampant in spring. Wash your bedding at least once a week to prevent any allergens or irritants from embedding themselves in the fibers of your linens.

4. Get on the Meds

If your allergies are really severe, you might want to take an antihistamine before your venture out each day. Just a single recommended dose in the morning should work like a charm. Taking antihistamines preemptively can help stave off a heightened immune response which usually results in the classic hay fever symptoms.

5. Whip Out the Vacuum Cleaner

You need to stay on top of dusting and vacuuming around your home. The dust that settles on your floors and furniture will be loaded with pollen at this time of year and keeping your sniffles at bay will come down to how well you can keep those allergens off the surfaces in your home.

6. Keep Your Bedroom Clean

Your bedroom is your sanctuary. The last thing you want is to be up all night, sneezing away and decimating the box of Kleenex on your nightstand. To keep your nights as peaceful as possible during spring, be sure to shower at night just before bed. You’ll be removing pollen and irritants from your body so that it doesn’t end up on your bedding, prompting you to enter an axiomatic, one-man or woman nose-trumpet competition all night long.

7. Keep those Hedges Pruned

Keep your hedges pruned, your garden weed-free, and your lawn trimmed. This will help keep pollen at bay as it won’t have so many nooks and crannies to settle into. Moreover, when your lawn is neat, there are fewer lengthy blades of grass and plant matter blowing in the wind and sending pollen cascading through your windows.

8. Keep those Windows and Doors Shut

Speaking of windows, try to keep them shut for most of the day. If you don’t have an air filtration system installed in your home, having windows and doors open all day long is only going to extend an open invitation to the pollen wafting outside the safety of your four walls. Don’t become a recluse, but keep things locked up for most of the day!

9. Keep it Hypoallergenic

Hypoallergenic bedding with protective layers that can prevent allergens from embedding themselves into the fabric of your linens can be a lifesaver at this time of year. If you have moderate to severe allergies, we would strongly suggest investing in certified hypoallergenic bedding.

A few added measures during spring can help you live a normal life throughout the season without reaching for a tissue every couple of minutes. Get rid of the itching, burning, and weeping altogether by implementing all nine of these pre-emptive measures today.