SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Warm, windy weather has been stirring up allergies as Spring has finally arrived. Here are a few tips on how to keep allergies at bay.
First, keep pollen out of the house.
"Even though the weather is getting nicer and you want to keep your windows and doors open to let that fresh air in, the outside is where all of the pollen is, which is causing a lot of people their seasonal allergy symptoms at this time of year,” said Dr. Marc Ikeda, Chief of Allergy, Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento.
Springtime allergies are all about pollen, so those allergic to tree and grass pollen are most impacted right now.
As long as you keep away from pollen, you should be OK.
"Try to keep the doors closed, the windows closed, shoes off in the house, nighttime showers if you can, especially if you spend a lot of time outdoors,” said Ikeda.
He says these pollen are going to be a problem well into the summer — July or August — until the weather gets really hot.
How can you tell if you have allergies?
"It's the itch that really sort of separates allergies versus the common cold,” he said. “When somebody has itchy watery eyes, itchy, runny nose, potentially that scratchy throat, and then sneezing is kind of a way that your body tries to scratch that itch."
Besides trying to stay away from the irritants, over the counter antihistamines work quickly and provide same-day relief. Nasal sprays are also a good option for those with allergies all season.
"It's important to know that the nasal steroid sprays work relatively slowly. So it's not something that you can just take for a day or two and magically get better, it really takes weeks of consistent use to start to see maximum benefit,” said Ikeda.
You should get help from a medical professional if: you have new or worse symptoms, your symptoms are interfering with your daily activities, sleep, school or work, you have questions about medicines or allergy testing or you do not get better as expected.
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