Four ways to avoid pollen and find allergy relief

Every year it’s the same story: the pollen comes out in full force and you spend the spring with a runny nose, itchy eyes, and sneezing. You take all your medicine and you practice good allergy avoidance techniques, but the symptoms don’t stop. As it turns out, the biggest source of pollen and other allergens may be you. Since this is asthma and allergy awareness month, this is a good time to discuss ways to prevent your own body from being the source of all your seasonal discomfort.

Rinse your hair every night

Pollen clings to your hair, and when you go to sleep you’re breathing in all the pollen you collected all day. Instead, take a few minutes to wash your face and hair to remove the excessive pollen. This is also a good strategy to use before you go to bed to avoid having the pollen stay on your bed and make your mornings unbearable due to allergies. 

Change your clothes when you get home

Like your hair, your clothes can pick up pollens and other allergens, especially if you’ve been spending a lot of time outside. From there, the allergens can leap to your furniture, so despite all the attempts you’ve made to keep your windows shut and the air outside from getting in, you now have pollen in your home. Also, once you change your clothes you should throw them in the laundry instead of hanging them back up. That way you avoid transferring the pollen to all the clean clothes in your closet. It's advised to clean your clothes as soon as possible to avoid making one area of your house completely contaminated by excessive pollen.

Don’t wear shoes indoors

Take your shoes off as soon as you enter your home and you’ll avoid tracking pollen with you. This is especially important if you have rugs or carpeting, since the pollen can be tough to remove and can elevate your symptoms for a while. If you do accidentally bring pollen into your home, you can clean your carpets or floors to remove the allergen.

Roll up your windows

Although it's tempting to enjoy the sunny weather with the windows down, it can create an environment in your car prime for allergy season. When you’re driving, keep your windows up and your air conditioning on. This helps filter the pollen out of the air, CEENTA Otolaryngologist Gregory Parsons, MD, said. This helps you not only breathe easy, but keeps allergens from landing on you.

Following these few easy steps is a great way to help you stay allergy symptom-free. Get the allergy relief you need at CEENTA by scheduling with our allergy specialists online or through your myCEENTAchart account/

This blog is for informational purposes only. For specific medical questions, please consult your physician. If you would like to make an appointment to see one of our allergy specialists at any of our North or South Carolina ENT locations, call 704-295-3000.