
Allergy Season Preparation: How to Navigate the Coming Months Sneeze-Free
An estimated 50 million Americans have allergies every year. “More Americans than ever say they manage allergies,” reports the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. “It is among the country’s most common, but overlooked, diseases.” For many of us, allergy season starts this month as the weather warms up and plants and flowers emerge from their winter sleep. If you want to get through the coming months sneeze-free, try these allergy season preparation strategies.
Allergy-Proof Your Life: Allergy Season Preparation Ideas For Your Home and Body
1. Redesign Your Home
Before we talk about natural ways to treat your running nose, itchy eyes, and other allergy symptoms, you first need to nip the problem in the bud: Manage and remove allergens that are causing your allergy symptoms.
This often means rethinking your furniture and decor:
- Consider switching to furniture that’s easier to clean. For instance, a leather couch is easier to wipe down than a fluffy couch, and hardwood chairs are easier to clean than an upholstered loveseat. Window coverings like curtains can also be major dust and allergen traps.
- Take a look at your flooring choices. Get rid of carpeting for vinyl, laminate or hardwood flooring. If you want softer textures, consider rugs that you can wash in the washing machine.
- Consider your ventilation. You want air circulating through your home, but you also want to ensure you aren’t letting in a cloud of pollen through an open window. Check your local area’s air quality reports, and keep windows shut when allergen levels are high. During these times, run fans and vents so the air in your home isn’t stagnating in any one room.
2. Clean Your Home
Pollen and other allergens settle on your home’s surfaces. Regular cleaning helps to physically eliminate allergens from your environment so you can breathe easier. Common culprits and areas to focus on include:
- Your bedding: Wash weekly, as bedding is one of the main places in your home where dander (i.e. skin flakes) collect. Don’t forget to vacuum or wipe down your mattress, too.
- Your hard surfaces: Wipe down furniture, counters, tables, etc., with a damp cloth (don’t use a duster!).
- Your upholstered, soft surfaces: If you keep your carpets or upholstered furniture, vacuum them at least once a week.
- Your pets: Give Rover a bath once a week, because animal fur doesn’t just produce allergens — it can also trap outdoor allergens and introduce them throughout your home.
3. Adjust the Thermostat
Lower the humidity and temperature in your home. The warmer and more humid your house, the more that mold and other biological allergens can flourish.
4. Run an Air Filter
Air filters trap airborne allergens, removing them from the air quickly and effectively. “For a single room, you want an air-cleaning unit with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter,” recommends Cedars-Sinai. “Make sure its CADR (clean air delivery rate) is right for the size of the room. If you have a central heating and air conditioning system in your home, you can turn it into a filtration system for your whole home by installing a better air filter. Permanent and disposable options are available.”
4. Manage Your Allergy Symptoms Naturally
Before trying an over-the-counter antihistamine, try a natural remedy to see if it helps you to get your allergy symptoms under control. Approaches that some people find effective include:
- Clean your nose regularly. You may even want to try a saline rinse. The mucus in your nasal passages is designed to help trap pollen, dust mites, dust and other particles, and regularly blowing and wiping your nose helps get rid of them.
- Try acupuncture, which researchers say may help improve how your body responds to allergen exposures.
- Reduce your stress levels through exercise, meditation and mindfulness. Chronic stress plays a role in how your immune system responds to allergens.
- Take probiotics, or eat probiotic-rich foods. A healthy gut is linked to lower seasonal allergies.
- Ask your healthcare professional about natural antihistamines such as Quercetin, a flavonoid naturally occurring in apples, peppers, red wine, dark cherries, tomatoes, cruciferous and leafy green veggies… and more.
Finally, don’t forget to support your immune system throughout this whole process. A healthy, balanced immune system is part of a healthy, balanced reaction to dust, pollen and other allergens and pollutants. Give your immune system what it needs with BioPro-Plus 500. This 100% natural immune system supplement is clinically proven to increase your T-cell counts as an aid to restore your body’s own natural immune response.
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