When allergy season comes along each spring, there’s not a whole loot you can do besides treating the symptoms. After all, pollen and other allergens fill the air, and a good rain is really the only way to clear it — at least temporarily. But what you can do is work to avoid any additional irritants.
According to Wyndly, th Georgia allergy season is typically worst in April, May and September, but many people suffer until the first good frost. if you’re allergies are severe enough, they may require treatment in the form of regular shots or other medications. For the rest of us, minimizing exposure to allergens is the best bet.
Here are three easy preventative measures you can take to keep allergies under control.
Pick your produce with allergies in mind
Gathering produce from a local market or a grocery store can trigger allergies. , especially if the product has pollen proteins. These proteins can trigger oral allergy syndrome.
An itchy throat and mouth, and cough usually accompany this type of allergy. Pollen-like foods include apples, almonds, celery, strawberries and cherries. According to Atlanta Allergy Doctor, those allergic to weed pollens should avoid foods like bananas, zucchinis, cucumbers, melons and hibiscus teas.
Be careful with chlorine
Summer wouldn’t be the same without a dip in the pool — especially as summer temperatures rise — but chlorine is a major allergy trigger, and it can effect you even if you’re just hanging out near the pool.
“Chlorine is an irritating gas and will do the same thing that fumes will,” explained Dr.David Rosenstreich, chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of the Bronx Asthma Project, to Health. “If you can smell it, that means it’s getting in your body.”
Household cleaners can also be a trigger.
Don’t skip showers
Pollen clings to clothes and hair, and sticks to the skin. Ceiling fans, meanwhile, drop dust on you while you sleep. In short, we get covered in allergens doing just about anything. So it’s important to keep clean.
“Hot showers do help; they open things up so you can breathe better and also wash off any pollen or things that are on your body,” Dr. Purvi Parikh, an adult and pediatric allergist and immunologist with Allergy and Asthma Associates of Murray Hill in New York City, told NBC News.
Keeping windows closed throughout the night and using an air purifier can help keep pollen in the house to a minimum. You should also change your sheets regularly and be sure to replace your HVAC system’s air filter.
