4 Simple Ways to Fight Allergies
By Jessica, April 19, 2013
Pollen is the number 1 cause of embarrassing sneezing fits, runny noses and watery, puffy eyes. With summer fast approaching (though we may not have a guarantee of good sunny weather) hay fever sufferers are guaranteed to start feeling their allergies rise to the surface. Read our round up of top tips taken from irishhealth.com. Simple and effective methods to help you prevent hay fever this summer.
Avoid being outdoors during high pollen hours
Where possible, GP’s advise hay fever sufferers to stay indoors during peak times. “The larger the city and the hotter the day, the later the daytime peak”, explains Dr Paul Dowding (Trinity College Dublin). In rural areas peak time usually occurs between 4-7pm and in cities, it is usually early evening.
Go to the Beach
Dr Paul Dowding recommends that people with hay fever allergies best way to beat the symptoms is simply when the sun shines- hit the beach. You can treat the symptoms of hay fever with over the counter treatments and you can avoid the peak periods during high pollen days by simply staying indoors and keeping all the windows and doors shut”, he says. “However, there are a lot of pluses to going to the seaside. On a high pollen day, with a light breeze, you will actually get clean air off the sea if you go to the beach”.
Visit your doctor or pharmacist BEFORE pollen season starts
By going to the doctor or pharmacist before the onset of the pollen season, people with hay fever stand the best chance of getting through sneezing season without having their summer ruined by an allergic reaction. Sufferers should visit their GP to work out a treatment plan in advance of the high pollen season.
If all else fails… Pray for Rain
Rain washes the pollen out of the air. Rainfall in the morning will nearly always keep the pollen count down to low or moderate for the rest of the day. In Ireland, this means that some people with a mild allergic reaction can actually go through a poor summer without realising that their cold-like symptoms are in fact a pollen allergy, as regular rainfall continually eases their symptoms.
