5 Hacks for Managing Everyone’s Spring & Summer Allergies
The changing seasons bring colorful hues and landscapes of blooming flowers that can take your breath away. And not because you’re awestruck, but because you’re coughing and sneezing due to seasonal allergies.
If you or a family member consistently deals with allergies in the spring and summer, our team at Merry Maids® has five hacks to help you manage them successfully.
What Causes Seasonal Allergies?
The exact cause of allergies is unknown, so it’s difficult to pinpoint the specific reason people experience seasonal allergies. Additionally, symptoms can vary greatly, as can their severity and duration. Leading experts do know that when the body is exposed to harmless foreign matter, the immune system produces antibodies. Mistakenly, the immune system tries to fight off allergens, such as pollen and dander (it thinks are dangerous matter) with “immunoglobulin E” antibodies. According to the Mayo Clinic, these antibodies produce histamine that can cause allergic reactions.
5 Allergy Hacks to Ensure Your Family is Comfortable
Our immune systems are amazing, complex, and essential, but sometimes, they can get it wrong. When warmer weather starts to make an appearance, use these five hacks so you and your entire family can enjoy the heat together.
Hack 1: Prepare Early
Hopefully, your loved ones aren’t in the thick of spring and summer allergies, but if they are, you probably have a few trade secrets of your own to help. For the future, be sure to prepare early for the onslaught of allergies to mitigate the severity of symptoms.
Here are some ways you can adequately prep:
Stock up on over-the-counter medications. Having your medicine counter full of tried-and-true allergy medications will help lessen allergy symptoms so you can enjoy the great outdoors.
Inform your doctor early. Your medical professional will likely have some great preemptive tips for your specific allergy.
Track pollen levels. You can go to Pollen.com to check the pollen levels in your specific area. It can give you a 5-day forecast to anticipate possible allergy symptoms for an upcoming outing.
Change air filters. Air filters should be changed every 3 months to reduce the build-up of dust, dander, and dirt in the air.
Hack 2: Recognize Your Allergy Symptoms
Before you can help loved ones treat allergies, you have to recognize the signs of seasonal allergies. Many times, allergy symptoms can range from watery and itchy eyes to a running nose. However, there are a few lesser-known symptoms you may not have experienced before.
Some uncommon allergy symptoms can include:
Skin hives
Headaches
Itchy mouth
Sore throat
Another uncommon allergy symptom (that bears some explanation) is behavioral issues. Allergy and Immunology Physician, Sakina Shikari Bajowala explains in a blog post that allergy symptoms can result in poor sleep, making many individuals tired and irritable during the day.
Hack 3: Allergy-Proof Your Home
Preparing early and recognizing allergy symptoms are only half the battle. To significantly help manage your family’s recurring allergies, the work starts at home—literally. Allergy-proofing your home and taking steps to reduce the onset of allergic reactions are two of the most critical steps.
Ways to allergy-proof your home include:
Regularly washing bed sheets, pillowcases, and other bedding items
Using hardwood or linoleum flooring instead of carpeting to keep dust and dirt from getting trapped in the carpet fibers
Purchasing plain cotton or synthetic fabric curtains for easy and routine washing
Closing windows and letting the AC do what it does best
Removing knickknacks that collect dust, such as books, magazines, table centerpieces, and more
Investing in an air purifier to improve the air quality in your home and make breathing much easier
Being proactive regarding seasonal allergies will ensure your loved ones’ comfort amid allergy season.
Hack 4: Stay Cool
We probably don’t have to tell you twice to stay in an air-conditioned space when the spring and summer heat rolls through your area. What you may not know is that heat can make allergies much worse, depending on where you live. The most common assumption about allergies is that they are only caused by pollen, mold, and insect stings in the spring and summer. And while these are common allergy culprits during the summer months, the higher temperatures could also cause severe allergies.
Heat hives, or cholinergic urticaria, are allergic reactions caused by heat. For some individuals, a temperature rise can produce the chemical histamine. This is similar to what happens when your immune system fights allergies.
There are a few ways to combat heat hives, including:
Wearing loose clothing
Taking cool showers
Applying aloe vera to the affected area
Lowering the temperature in your home
Hack 5: Avoid Certain Foods
The spring and summer are synonymous with outdoor get-togethers and all the sizzling BBQ foods and cool drinks you love. The downside to these staple cuisines is that they can potentially make seasonal allergies worse.
If you’re already an allergy sufferer, you may want to stay away from these foods:
Alcohol
Sugar
Wheat
Peanuts
Processed foods
Chocolate
Coffee
We know, we know. How can you possibly give up your morning coffee or another one of your favorite summer beverages? Fortunately, you don’t have to eliminate these foods from your diet completely. Eating them in moderation or cutting them out for a few weeks at the height of allergy season can help tremendously in reducing allergy symptoms.
As summertime nears, we hope you get to do all the things you’ve been looking forward to with your family. Now that you have the allergy hacks to make family life better, maybe you need some support in other areas, like housekeeping.
Our cleaning experts would love to help you make more time to enjoy the summer sun with our professional cleaning services. For more information, call us at (888) 490-4227 or request an estimate today!
