Tips to Help Your Family Fight Pollen
Allergy season is likely not your favorite time of year if pollen is your No. 1 enemy. It’s everywhere in the spring and early summer — you can see layers on your car, your driveway and even the road. If family members are allergic, you need to take every measure to keep them safe and survive pollen allergies throughout the season.
1. Know What Allergies Are
You won't know how to fight pollen unless you understand what allergies are. This reaction occurs when your immune system reacts to foreign bodies, like pollen or dust, and perceives them as threats.
You want your immune system to fight against viruses and bacteria, but things like pollen aren't meant to hurt you. However, it is the greatest allergen in springtime, meaning your family won't be alone in its fight.
2. Take Medication
You might consider getting your body used to allergy medication before spring starts. Drugs don't mitigate the symptoms of allergies for everyone, so you also have the option of using a nasal spray. Try both out and see which works better for your family. Unsurprisingly, sprays do a better job than pill-based medication at clearing nasal symptoms. Take inventory of your family's symptoms and decide your best course of action.
3. Wear a Mask
Wearing a mask can help prevent allergens from entering your airways. This can revolutionize how you breathe during allergy season, whether you're dusting your home during intensive spring cleaning or gardening outside. Remember to wash your masks often after wearing them out or around dust. You don't want to risk inhaling any of those particles.
4. Work Around Your Allergies
Your life shouldn't stop just because a few people in your family have allergies. However, enjoying the outside world becomes more difficult. Figure out how to work around what you love during peak season by doing a bit of research.
For example, if you like to have fresh flowers in your house, consider choosing a variety low in pollen that won't cause an allergic reaction. Daffodils, lilies and orchids are all excellent choices that can brighten up a home without risking an allergy attack.
5. Close Your Windows
When warm weather appears, your first reaction may be to throw open the windows and let the air come rushing in. The freshness of spring might be nice, but the pollen that wafts through your windows could be a terrible move in a household full of people with allergies. Instead, rely on air conditioning during peak season. You can open your windows after it passes. You may also open them up after a heavy rain since there likely won’t be any lingering pollen in the air.
6. Have House Clothes
Make sure family members who work or study outside the home have clean clothes ready for them as soon as they return. They can remove items that may have trapped pollen and throw them directly into the washing machine. This helps keep your home pollen-free.
Use the dryer during the peak pollen season if you typically dry your clothes outside. Otherwise, a breeze could blow pollen onto your clothing and you’ll need to rewash them. You can save this time and heartache by simply drying everything indoors.
7. Keep an Eye on Pollen Levels
Pollen levels fluctuate on different days. Grass may be more prevalent than tree pollen sometimes, and the next day could see an uptick in the amount of ragweed. Learning which type your family is allergic to can help you plan your activities for the week. Many resources can tell you which pollen should be heaviest on which day.
Remember to keep your outdoor plans flexible at this time of year — you never know what could change in a matter of days. You may find it easiest to make only indoor plans during peak allergy season. It will be safer to spend extended time outside again once pollen levels calm down.
Coping With Allergies in the Best Way Possible
Allergies aren't going anywhere anytime soon. The best your family can do is build a tolerance to the pollen and take every measure to keep it out of your home. You may have to clean more often during the spring, but that’s a good thing. With a bit of adjustment, you'll still be able to have fun while avoiding the worst of your household's allergies.