5 Tips for Managing Spring Allergies

Allergies are your body’s response when it thinks pollen or other substances in the environment pose a danger. This causes your immune system to release histamines to attack these “pathogens,” resulting in itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, rashes, and more, including coughing and even asthma attacks.

If you have seasonal allergies (along with 80 million other Americans), you’re all too familiar with this phenomenon, especially in the spring, when so much pollen is released by trees, grass, and flowers.

Here at Voss Family Clinic, we love to help our patients find relief from allergies, and offer allergy testing and immunotherapy tailored to each person. Here are five of our best tips.

Check daily pollen counts

Pollen is the biggest culprit when it comes to allergies, so monitor the pollen count every day (check your favorite weather app). When the count is high, stay indoors as much as possible, or at least avoid long periods of time outside.

Take your shoes off

When you do come in from outdoors, take your shoes off and leave them at the door. This will prevent pollen from being tracked throughout your house on the bottom of your shoes. Plus, no matter how tempting that breeze is on a sunshine-filled day, keep your windows closed to keep allergens outside.

Buy a HEPA filter

A high quality HEPA filter (high efficiency particulate air) in your home and in your vacuum cleaner will reduce the amounts of allergens circulating in your home. These can include pollen, dust mites, pet hair, dust, mold, and more. The filter will help trap the allergens to keep them out of your house.

Consider medication

Oral antihistamines give relief to many people, as do nasal steroid sprays, antihistamine eye drops, and many other options. If you are a chronic allergy-sufferer, you may want to start taking your medication well before allergy season so it builds up in your system before the pollen count gets too high.

Use saltwater

A more natural allergy treatment involves saltwater. Yes, you read that correctly. Saltwater nasal sprays help clear allergens out of your nasal passages while reducing inflammation. Neti pots can also be very effective at delivering saline through your nose to fight allergens.

If you still struggle with the effects of allergies after applying these tips, our team at Voss Family Clinic will be glad to explore treatment options with you. In our office, we can offer you allergy testing and immunotherapy personalized for each patient. Just call our office or use our online booking tool to set up an appointment. 

And watch out for that pollen!