Summer Allergies: How to Avoid Them

It’s that time of year! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the sky is blue… and you are a nonstop sneezing machine. Your eyes won’t quit watering, your skin is itchy, and you keep coughing up phlegm. It sounds like summer allergies have hit you head-on, but fear not. In this blog, we’ll tell you how to get ahead of them so you can feel better and enjoy the summer sunshine!

How to Beat Summer Allergies: 5 Tips

Try these natural solutions before you reach for any over-the-counter or prescription drugs. They’re safe and effective, and they’ll help you get control over your summer allergies and those pesky symptoms.

1. Check the Pollen Count in Your Area 

Before you head outdoors, get an idea of what you’re dealing with. Google “what is the pollen count today” followed by your zip code. One of your local weather websites will probably appear near the top of the search results. Here’s an example using “what is the pollen count today 89149.” The Weather Channel popped up with this.

On days when these allergens are floating around with a vengeance, consider staying indoors as much as possible. Keep the doors and windows to your home closed. If you have to go outside, try to wear a mask.

Additionally, remember that the windier it is, the more these allergens (along with other triggers) are circulating. 

2. Keep Outdoor Allergens Where They Are — Outdoors!

Allergens can easily make their way into our homes on our clothes and shoes. Furthermore, if you have a furry friend who spends even a little time outside, they can bring allergens in on their paws and in the fur/hair.

 

 

Aim to take your shoes off before walking through your home. If you’ve spent a lot of time outside — and especially if it’s a windy day — change your clothes immediately.

For your pet friends, keep animal-friendly wipes by the door and wipe their paws as soon as they come inside. Make a habit of regularly combing/de-shedding them, but do it in a designated spot to help maintain the fur. Otherwise, it’ll end up all over your home. As soon as you’re done combing them, vacuum the area. And of course, regular baths will help cut down on the allergens they’re bringing into the home!

On a similar note, make sure that any and all entry points to your home — both doors and windows — are properly sealed. If there are any gaps, allergens can squeeze inside.

But how can you tell if everything is properly insulated? Just stand in front of it! Do you see any slivers of light coming through? Can you feel a slight breeze? That means they’re not totally sealed, and allergens could be finding their way inside your home.

3. Let an Air Purifier Work its Magic

Here’s the thing. Regular cleaning helps. Keeping allergens outdoors will help reduce those nagging summer allergies. However, it’s really hard to eliminate these allergens without the help of technology. That’s where an air purifier comes in!

 

An air purifier will use multiple layers to filter out particles of various sizes, from dog hairs and pollen to things so small that they’re undetectable by the human eye.

A sophisticated air purification system will do a lot of the heavy lifting that humans simply can’t. This is an effective and powerful way to keep summer allergies at bay.

Look for an air purifier with a medical-grade HEPA 13 filter. You also want a replaceable filter, not a washable one. Replaceable filters are better at what they do, they stay cleaner, and you don’t have to expose yourself to the particles inside of them, unlike a washable filter.

Using an air purifier for allergies is a must.

4. Try Nasal Irrigation

If you experience a lot of congestion with your summer allergies, you might find rinsing your nasals beneficial. You can use something like a neti pot. There’s a little learning curve and it feels weird at first, but it can work miracles on your breathing. 

Nasal irrigation can be especially helpful because often, summer allergies feel worse at night. This can happen for two reasons. First, laying down might increase your congestion. And secondly, you might be dealing with an increase in indoor allergens, which will only make your symptoms more exaggerated. 

 

 

5. Reconsider Your Humidifier

This one could go either way. Some people find relief by using a humidifier because the extra moisture can smooth the inside of an irritated, dry, and inflamed nose. 

However, humidifiers can also release more dust and mold into the air, making your allergy symptoms even worse.

If you’re having a hard time taking control over your symptoms, try turning your humidifier off for a few days and see what happens. You just might find that your symptoms ease up a little bit.

What Causes Summer Allergies, Anyway?

Great question! Essentially, allergies happen when your body encounters foreign particles and decides that they’re a threat, even if they’re not. So, your immune system responds by producing antibodies.

These antibodies have the important job of releasing chemicals, like histamine. And histamine is what’s actually responsible for your allergy symptoms. That’s why some people take an over-the-counter antihistamine when they’re experiencing allergies.

The most common seasonal allergens are mold, pollen, grass, and ragweed — very common culprits that you can find all over the United States.

 

 

Squash Your Summer Allergies Like a Bug

Monitoring the pollen count, keeping allergens outdoors, rinsing your nasal passages, nixing the humidifier, and using an air purifier might be all you need to feel better now.

Sans is with you every step of the way. Our air purifier uses four layers of protection to keep the air you breathe crystal clear. Ready to say goodbye to summer allergies? Shop now!