Seasonal allergies come with congestion, runny nose, sneezing, and other symptoms many people want to get rid of as soon as possible. When the season strikes, many people wish for the symptoms to go away as quickly as possible. What if I told you it’s possible to do it? Here are tips given by allergist specialist on how to go about it:

Identify your triggers

Everything begins here. When you know substances you are allergic to, you can easily protect yourself against them. Once you know your enemies, the next move should be to avoid them as much as you can. How do you do this?

Stay indoors: When it’s dry and windy, stay indoors. Only go outside after a good rain that is known to clear pollen from air.

Hire a contractor: Pollen and other allergens are known to attach themselves on weeds and grass. To avoid coming into contact with them, let a contractor handle the gardening work. Let the professional do the lawn mowing, weed pulling and other tasks.

Keep laundry inside the house: This isn’t the time to hang your laundry outside as it will come into contact with allergens. To protect yourself, hang it inside.

Wear a pollen mask: If you have to go outside, wear a pollen mask. When buying the mask, ensure it’s designed for pollen.

Keep indoor air clean.

While there is no magical product to keep indoor air clean, there are several suggestions that might be of help. They include:

Use the air conditioning of your house and car and ensure its working optimally.

If you have forced-air heating or air conditioning, use high-efficiency filters and follow regular maintenance schedules.

Make use of a portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in your bedroom.

Clean the floors regularly using a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter

Use a dehumidifier to keep indoor air dry.

Try medications

Did you know there are plenty of medications you can use to treat your condition? Some of the medications  you can use to ease your symptoms include:

Decongestants: Decongestants provide temporary and often instant relief from nasal stuffiness. They come in different forms, including nasal and oral sprays. While the products are effective, avoid long term use of nasal sprays as they have been shown to worsen the symptoms.

Antihistamines: Antihistamines come in handy at relieving itching, sneezing, watery eyes, and runny nose. Some of the popular antihistamines you can use include: loratadine, fexofenadine and many others.

Combined medications: Some allergy conditions are so severe you have to use a combination of medications. For example, you have to combine decongestants and antihistamine. One of the most popular combinations you can have is a mixture of fexofenadine-pseudoephedrine and loratadine-pseudoephedrine.

Reduce your pet contact

Cats and dogs are cute, and as a pet lover, you want to cuddle them all the time. Unfortunately, you can’t do it when the allergy season is on. Pets love staying outdoors where they can collect pollen and transport them into the house. You also risk coming into contact with the allergens when you hold the pets.

To protect yourself, reduce your contact with the pets. If you have to stay with your pets, keep them from going outside. In the event, they go outside by mistake, bathe them immediately and wipe them.

Rinse your sinuses

There is no easier way that relieves nasal congestion as fast as rinsing the sinuses. Doing it directly flushes out mucus and allergens, leaving you feeling fresh and comfortable. To do it you need a saline solution and squeeze bottle.

After rinsing your nose, remember also to rinse the irrigation device and keep it sterile.

Try out natural remedies.

Don’t like conventional treatment methods? There are plenty of natural treatment options to choose from. The most popular remedies are extracts of the shrub spirulina and butterbur.

While some people cite acupuncture as highly effective at getting rid of seasonal allergies, there is little evidence that it works. We wouldn’t recommend you to go this route unless more research is done on it.

You should note that alternative treatment methods aren’t for everyone. To be safe, always get the go-ahead from a reputable allergy doctor Germantown MD.