I could start this season off with the cutest outfit for spring. But spring is serious business if you have allergies. Plus, you won’t be looking super fly with puffy, itchy eyes, while sneezing and a runny nose. I struggled severely as a child with asthma and allergies. In fact, spring can be downright miserable.
My mother was convinced I would grow out of asthma and my parents did the best they could to help me feel better. It was not until I became an adult that I started to experience long term relief aside from being heavily medicated. I now know how much lifestyle changes can offer comfort and long term sustained relief. I shared parts of that journey but will dig deeper in another post another day. In this post, I want to focus on getting you ready to beat allergy symptoms as spring ramps up. Since I have a life long history of dealing with seasonal allergies, I wanted to share my allergy health hacks.
Stay ahead of your symptoms: You may have heard the term “Prevention is better than cure”. In other words, it’s easier to get ahead of the allergy season rather than wait until the season is in full swing and reap havoc on your health.
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Build your immune system. My favorite allergy support supplements are
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Essential oils– peppermint, rosemary, lavender, eucalyptus are all very powerful treatments when your upper respiratory is under attack.
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Take allergy medication at night. I got this hack from my daughter’s pediatrician. She advised me to give my daughter antihistamines at night so that the medication can be in her system fully by morning. Especially since tree blooms are most active in the mornings.I have a habit now of checking the pollen count every morning like I check the weather. I us a pollen count app that actually sends me notifications when allergens that affect me and my daughter are super high. This helps me decide whether we need to go as far as wearing a mask outside if the wind is high.
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Stay consistent with treatment throughout the time of your seasonal allergies. You gotta be on this for the long haul of the season you have the worst allergy symptoms. When it rains, symptoms can seem better depending on your allergy sensitivity. Nonetheless, keep your treatment on a routine. I also like to alternate between allergy medications. I know which ones work best for me and my daughter, so I keep 3 options on hand to alternate between. That way our bodies won’t catch on and build a resistance to any one treatment.
Shower often: Do a good rinse from head to toe for a nice purge before relaxing throughout the house, especially lying across the bed.
Avoid excess dairy + sugar: Excess dairy is known to increase mucus in the sinus cavities sometimes leading to severe headaches and congestion. Trapped mucus can also prevent bacteria from moving out and lead to further misery including sinus infection. OMGGG…. I HATE. That’s a trip to urgent care or a doctor’s visit ($$$). Try switching to nut or rice milks if you have to have milk during this time.
Sugar is notorious for triggering inflammation. With all the over reaction going on in your system during spring it’s a good idea to avoid sugar as much as possible.
Don’t dry out your sinuses:
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Avoid overusing antihistamines: Although antihistamines reduce irritating allergy symptoms, they are prone to dry out sinuses. Dry sinus is the WORST. Symptoms include really painful headaches, dry mouth, and even a bloody nose. All leading to sinus discomfort. So the best way to get out of this loop is to have a balanced treatment plan. Stick to the prescribed antihistamine dosage and stay hydrated.
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Antihistamines are not the only culprit to drying out sinuses. Since it’s still cold, heaters are still running. If you wake up with a headache it may be due to your sinus drying out from the dry heat through the night. Keep sinuses moist. I prefer using oil diffusers instead of a humidifier to keep the right balance of moisture in the air when the heat is on. Diffusers are the boom.com. I use a combination of sinus healthy essential oils in the diffuser and allow it to work throughout the night. If you don’t have essential oils you can use the diffuser with water alone.
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Drinking lots of water is irrigation for your upper respiratory system. Plus water helps circulate any medication and all the immune support supplements you are taking, making them more effective. Water is really like medicine when it comes to your allergy symptoms. You gotta have it! Imagine a toilet with no water… uggg right?? Yeah, drink water makes more sense with that analogy.
Regularly Use a Nasal rinse
Nasal rinses are doubly effective. Use them to remove dust and pollen from your nasal passages and sinuses after being outside all day. IT helps flush out stagnant mucus in your sinus passages. At the same time, it’s a good way to keep your sinuses from drying out causing severe headaches. This saline spray by Arm & Hammer is my absolute favorite nasal rinse. I am not choking from all the heavy baking soda solution when using it. It emits a nice soft mist instead. Plus, it’s easy for my daughter to use on her own.
Establish a clean home defense routine
I set our home up during allergy season to help defend us against overwhelming outside and inside allergens. I like to start with a super thoroughly clean home. A couple of years ago I added a new regimen where I went as far as hiring an air cleaning company to come out and flush the air ducts and the entire air conditioning units in our home. After which I added lifetime air filters that could be washed outdoors every 3-6 months and allowed to dry (in the garage or a bathtub) before using again.
Another way I prep our home is I throw our pillows in the wash and dry them on high heat to elevate any dust mites. I also vacuum our mattresses and add a mattress cover. Keeping our home dust free as much as possible is a must especially since I am particularly allergic to dust and dust mites. If you can’t do a through air condition unit cleanse, air purifiers are helpful. Even after cleaning our air conditioning unit, I still use the air purifier as needed on heavy pollen days.
Lastly, don’t keep your home too damp. I actually use a dehumidifier the later it gets in spring once the heaters have been off for a while. But I live in GA where as it gets warmer, the humidity can get as high as 100%.
Don’t let all the pretty popping blooms fool you. The weather warming up comes with a price. So stay ahead of the allergy season and keep that fabulous glow.