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Our Top Tips to Nip Those Springtime Allergies in the Bud
In 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 5 children in the United States reported struggling with seasonal allergies.
At Rapid Response Urgent Care, our expert team of board-certified doctors and nurses understands how seasonal allergies can feel like the uninvited guest that overstays their welcome. That’s why we offer a number of treatments to reduce your symptoms and make you feel more like yourself again.
What causes seasonal allergies?
When your immune system detects a foreign substance in your body, it mounts an allergic reaction. Sometimes, though, it makes a mistake and reacts to a harmless substance as if it’s a pathogen. That’s the case with seasonal allergies.
When it detects an allergen, such as pollen, it signals for the release of histamines to fight the invader. This causes inflammation and boosts mucus production, resulting in a runny nose, cough, and itchy and watery eyes, the classic symptoms of seasonal allergies.
Though symptoms are caused by the immune system response, the response itself is triggered by environmental allergens. Pollen is produced naturally as a means of reproduction for a wide range of plants, which is why allergy season occurs mostly in the spring and fall, when plants are growing.
The most common culprit for fall allergies is ragweed, a plant that grows wild almost everywhere during the late summer and early fall months, but especially on the East Coast and in the Midwest.
Current human activity plays a role in triggering seasonal allergies, too. By producing air pollution, using nonnative and allergen-producing plants for landscaping, as well as increasing temperature because of climate change, we’re contributing to a more aggressive and longer bout of seasonal allergies.
Warmer global temperatures have caused plants to blossom earlier and produce pollen longer than in the past. And air pollutants change pollen’s composition and damage its surface, making it more allergenic.
What are allergy symptoms?
Most seasonal allergies consist of some combination of the following symptoms:
- Rashes
- Hives
- Shortness of breath
- Itchy, puffy, or watery eyes
- Nasal congestion
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Itching
- Dizziness
- Vomiting
- Swelling
- Fatigue
The symptoms may be mild or severe; everyone responds a bit differently.
While anyone can develop seasonal allergies, you have an increased risk if you have family members who also have allergies. Having asthma, a chronic condition that affects your breathing, may also play a role in developing allergies.
Our top tips to nip springtime allergies in the bud
There are a number of things you can do to prevent your seasonal allergies from taking over your life.
Check local pollen conditions
Avoiding the offending allergens is the best form of prevention. Check local pollen counts and limit your time outdoors when they’re elevated. The Weather Channel offers a local 15-day allergy forecast that rates levels as high, moderate, low, or none for tree, grass, and ragweed pollen.
Improve indoor air quality
You can reduce your exposure to allergens by running an air purifier indoors, vacuuming carpets and drapes regularly, and changing clothes and showering after being outside in high pollen conditions.
You should also keep the windows and doors shut on high-pollen days, and wear an N95 mask if you have to go outdoors or are doing yard work.
Landscape mindfully
The National Wildlife Federation encourages people to research the types of trees and flowers they plant in their yards and reduce or eliminate those with high allergenic levels. Plants pollinated by wildlife rather than by the wind are less likely to release allergenic pollen into the air. Also, ensuring a diversity of plants reduces oversaturation of any one particular allergen.
Use over-the-counter (OTC) medications
Intranasal corticosteroids, such as Flonase, are effective at treating the symptoms of seasonal allergies, even more than oral antihistamines. However, if the intranasal medication doesn’t work for you, ask your provider about which antihistamines, decongestants, and other symptom-relief medications you can use as second-line therapies.
Consider immunotherapy
If you have severe seasonal allergies that impact your quality of life and prevent normal day-to-day functioning, make an appointment with an allergist. They can test for specific allergies, and administer immunotherapy injections, small doses of the allergen designed to desensitize the immune system to it.
Want more tips, or need to see an ENT about your allergies? Rapid Response Urgent Care can help. Walk in to our Granada Hills, California, office, call us at 818-923-5216, or book an appointment online today.