If you are sensitive to mold, ragweed pollen, and other seasonal elements, the fall can be an extremely difficult time of the year for you. As the days get shorter and the leaves begin to change colors, you could experience a variety of allergy symptoms, including a sore throat, a runny nose, itchy eyes, and other lesser known symptoms. Here are some tips to help you prevent fall allergies.
Cleanliness
Washing pollens off of your skin is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of experiencing fall allergies. You should do this as soon as possible if you have spent time outdoors. It is a good idea to change your clothing and shoes prior to entering the home after going outdoors. This will help you reduce the amount of pollen that you bring in and out of the home. Allergens that get into the home can increase your risk of suffering from cold-like symptoms.
Minimize Outdoor Activities
Ideally, you should avoid going outdoors. This may be easier said than done, especially for individuals who have to work, attend class, or handle personal and professional business offline. To prevent fall allergies, you should do as many activities as possible indoors, and minimize the amount of time that you spend outside. You should always check pollen levels in your area.
When you live in a high pollen area, you will need to minimize your exposure to allergens on days with high pollen counts. Check with an allergy testing center in Fort Lauderdale to determine what is considered a high pollen area, and what you can do to prevent allergen exposure.
Dry Laundry Outdoors
Many people hang their clothing outside to dry in warmer weather. This is not a good idea if you want to avoid suffering from fall allergies. Laundry is considered a magnet for pollen, and it could end up inside of your bedroom, closets, kitchen, living room, basement, and other areas of the home. After washing your clothing, place the items inside of the dryer or hang them in the laundry room to air-dry.
Use a Dehumidifier
While humidifiers could help with breathing, a dehumidifier may be the better choice if you are sensitive to mold and dust. Keep in mind that dust mites and molds have the ability to flourish in a humid environment. When this happens, your risk of suffering from fall allergies will increase. Therefore, you should consider using a dehumidifier to prevent indoor allergy symptoms.
Use an Air Conditioner
Instead of opening windows at night, keep the air conditioner on. Your bedroom is generally the place where you spend at least eight hours or more each night, so you want to keep the room as pollen-free as possible. Opening your bedroom window will invite the pollen in, but using an air conditioner instead could keep the allergens out. During high season, you should consider installing a HEPA filter system in your home. This will help ensure that you are breathing in better air at night.
Rake Up Leaves
Piles of leaves could be the perfect breeding grounds for mold. You will need to rake the leaves up before they get wet and moldy. Doing so could reduce your risk of going into a sneezing frenzy, in addition to suffering from other fall allergy symptoms. However, be sure that you wear a mask when raking the leaves to avoid stirring agitated pollen and mold in the air.
These are some of the tips that you should use to prevent fall allergy symptoms from ruining your days and nights. If you want to be tested and learn more about allergens, visit centers like the Florida Center For Allergy & Asthma Care.
