Allergy season got you down? Allergies come from your body’s reaction to allergens in the surrounding environment (although you can also have food allergies as well). These allergens can come from pollen found in trees, grass and weeds, dust, pet dander and mold. Some of the most common allergy symptoms include any and all of the following: hives, that stuffy ear feeling, stuffy noses, runny noses, watery and/or itchy eyes as well as sneezing, sinus pressure and that weird, itchy feeling on the roof of your mouth. Sounds horrible doesn’t it? Well it can be and usually is pretty bad for the people who have to endure it. The following list shows some ways that you can reduce the severity of your allergy symptoms .

Ways to Reduce Your Allergy Symptoms

1. Avoid the Pollen:After you’ve been out all day, make sure that you shower before going to bed. Pollen attaches itself to everything, including your hair, skin and clothes. If you get into bed at night without showering, you can pretty much consider yourself to be sleeping in a bed of pollen. If you are driving or are in your home, you can forget about the “nice breeze”; keep your windows shut and turn the air conditioner on instead.
2. Kill the Mold:Mold grows easiest in warm, damp conditions. The perfect place is the bathroom. Make sure that you change or at least clean your shower curtains regularly. Also, make sure that you have a vent in the bathroom that actually works to remove some of the damp air. If your home or apartment is especially susceptible to mold growth, consider getting a dehumidifier. Turning a fan or the air conditioning on as well as regularly changing air filters will also help.
3. Tips For Dust: If at all possible, remove carpeting. Carpet is the enemy because it acts as one gigantic dust trap. In addition to that, it retains smells a lot more too, which can make your home or apartment not smell as fresh as it could. Keep the humidity low in your home (set your thermostat at 70 degrees). Avoid comforters or bed linens that have feathers (sorry to all those who love down comforters!). If you can, replace your fabric mattress cover with a plastic one or none at all to reduce the amount of dust floating around. When you wash your sheets, make sure it’s in hot water and that you do it at least once a week!
4. Filter Away: If you do have carpeting, make sure that your vacuum has a high quality filter on it and don’t forget to leave the apartment after you vacuum (to allow time for particles in the air to settle, since you’ll be stirring them up). The same goes for the filters associated with your air conditioning (if you have central air). If you have pets, one way to reduce the dander is to get an air filter for your air conditioning system that deals with all sorts of allergens, including pet dander.
5. Medication: If your allergies are severe, you may need to see a doctor to find out what the best method of reducing them is. They may perform an allergy skin test and/or some other tests for allergies. If you feel that your allergies are not severe, there are plenty of over the counter (OTC) medications available to you. However, you may still want to consult with your doctor or pharmacist as to what OTC medication would be best for you.

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