We’re so glad to see our calendars turn away from winter and towards spring. After a long, cold (and wet) last few months, nothing is nicer than finally getting to spend some quality time outside. That is, unless you suffer from seasonal allergies. Spring seasonal allergies, sometimes referred to as hay fever, occur when your immune system has an overreaction to an outdoor allergen (most commonly pollen).
Spring is blooming season for plants and flowers, especially here in the Atlanta area with our abundance of greenery. This leads to an excess of pollen in the environment that can trigger allergy symptoms like coughing, congestion, and breathing issues. Needless to say, spring allergies can turn fun outdoors into a frustrating, uncomfortable nightmare. To help keep our readers feeling their best throughout this allergy season and beyond, we are happy to provide some tips on how season allergy symptoms can be managed:
- If possible, avoid the outdoors on especially dry and windy days when the pollen count is high. When outside on these days, wear sunglasses to keep irritants out of your eyes.
- Talk to your doctor about possibly using allergy medicine. Antihistamines can help. Nasal sprays may be of assistance to people with more severe symptoms.
- Being proactive and beginning to take your allergy medicine before the season gets bad can help provide the necessary time for the medicine to successfully enter your system before symptoms get bad.
- Drinking tea with honey can help relieve sore throat and chronic coughing related to allergies.
- Keep your home allergy friendly by making sure to close all windows and doors to keep pollen out. Beware of tracking any pollen from your clothes or on the bottom of shoes into the house. We highly recommend using HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filters.
- Avoid smoking, as this can trigger and exacerbate allergy symptoms.
- Shower any extended outdoor activity to rinse all pollen and other irritants from your skin and hair.
Following these tips can be an excellent first step towards managing your allergy symptoms this spring. If you haven’t had any luck, we provide different allergy treatments including shots that can help significantly reduce a persons’ sensitivity to allergens. For more information or to schedule an appointment with one of our healthcare providers, please contact Family Practice Center today. You can follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional health tips, news, photos, and more.