Reduce Symptoms This Allergy Season

Many people look forward to the start of the spring and summer season worldwide. However, it isn’t always something to look forward to for people with seasonal allergies.

If your seasonal allergies are causing you to be miserable this season, you are not alone in feeling this way. Every year more than 50-million Americans are affected by allergies. Reduce the severity of your seasonal allergy symptoms by following these simple steps.

Understanding Hay fever

As you are no doubt aware, hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen, which are microscopic grains released by certain species of grass, weeds and trees that contain the male reproductive cell of the plant and cause the allergic reaction.

When a hay fever experiencer comes into contact with pollen, their immune system perceives that it is under attack and responds by releasing a barrage of chemicals in an attempt to protect them from what they believe to be a life-threatening infection.

Because of this, these chemicals are released by the body, responsible for the typical symptoms that they experience. Watery eyes, a sore throat and a runny nose are flu symptoms.

More severe symptoms, such as headaches, earaches, pain around the sinuses and even tiredness and exhaustion, are experienced by some people. If you feel you experience the more extreme symptoms due to your allergies, then visiting your ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor will allow you to explore your options medically.

Clean Your Home

Before allergy season starts, reduce allergens in your home by deep cleaning. Identify less cleaned areas where dirt and dust can build-up, such as behind cupboards, under furniture, on skirting boards and remove them from your home. Do this regularly to allow for cleaner air and more relaxing time at home.

Air Purifier

Investing in a good-quality air cleaner with high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can help you to eliminate traces of pollen or other allergies in the home. When you open doors or windows, the risk of allergens entering your home increases the same as when people come and go. But it isn’t always possible to stay inside at all times.

Over The Counter Medicines

You can buy antihistamines over the counter and, when taken regularly, can help to reduce the symptoms of seasonal allergies such as hay fever. Depending on your preference, you can purchase antihistamines in tablet form as a nasal spray or eye drops.

Your ENT doctor will help you find the right antihistamine for you to increase your comfort level.

Eat Local Honey

Honey has many health benefits, but it is particularly popular with hay fever experiencers to reduce allergies during the spring and summer months. The reason people use local honey is that it will contain local pollen, meaning by ingesting the honey, you are becoming desensitized and won’t react aggressively. While this hasn’t been scientifically proven, there are no downsides to adding local honey to your diet.

Inhale Steam

Inhaling steam is an easy and effective way to clear stuffy noses. When your allergies are in full throttle, runny or stuffy noses can occur, your eyes become irritable and you could potentially have headaches due to this. Inhaling steam is a great way to reduce the pressure in your nose; all you need to do is hold your head over a bowl of stream, put a towel over your head covering your head and the bowl and inhale. Be careful not to burn yourself in the hot water in the process.

Eye Bath

Much in the same way inhaling steam cleans your nose, an eye bath will rinse your eyes and remove allergens to help ease your discomfort. Rubbing your eyes can cause the pollen or trigger further into the eyes and skin, but an eye bath will quickly rinse the eye area.

Immunotherapy

If over-the-counter medications do not alleviate your symptoms, your ENT doctor may recommend immunotherapy as a possible treatment option for you. To treat their symptoms, patients are given tablets containing grass pollen, which they must place under their tongues.

This exposure to pollen, similar to honey, gradually desensitizes the experiencer, reducing the severity of the symptoms. This has proven to be highly effective, with symptoms disappearing within a season of using it. The treatment will need to be continued for three years to provide long-term relief.

If you want to learn more about how to treat seasonal allergies, call Mountain Ear, Nose & Throat Associates today to see how we can help on: Sylva: 828-586-7474, Franklin: 828-524-5599, Murphy: 828-835-1014 and New Asheville: 828-458-8100.