Spring just started but allergies already a headache for millions across US
FOX Medical Correspondent Dr. Jeanette Nesheiwat offers some tips to help allergy suffers battle sneezin' season.
Spring allergies are here, fight back
Spring allergies beat the first day of spring this year. Trees are blooming ahead of schedule across the southern half of the U.S.. Dr. Jeanette Nesheiwat joins FOX Weather with the best ways to fight back against the pollen assault.
NEW YORK – After a mild winter, spring buds are blooming earlier than average and leaving the air thick with pollen.
Sniffling, sneezing, wheezing, an itchy throat and watery eyes don't have to be a part of your life in spring. Your immune system is working overtime and reacting to relatively harmless things, such as pollen. Medicines, foods and simple tasks can help you breathe easier.
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(FOX Weather)
Check pollen levels in your area
Before you start battling your allergies, find out what type of pollen is giving you fits. Below are some links that will give you the status of pollen in your area.
Gulf Coast states and South
Western states
Premedicate
FOX Medical Correspondent Dr. Jeanette Nesheiwat offered some tips to help allergy sufferers fight back.
"So the first thing you can do if you know that you already suffer from allergies is premedicate yourself," Nesheiwat said.
Take an antihistamine like Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra or a generic an hour before you go outside. Over-the-counter medicines with diphenhydramine work, too, but can make you sleepy. If one doesn't work well, try another. Just make sure to give it a week before you decide.
"If you're going to be using something a little bit stronger, like a nasal spray, then you would need to get that in your system earlier," she said. "Get started 1 or 2 weeks earlier for it to really be effective."
Talk with your doctor to come up with a plan of what over-the-counter or prescription medicines work best for you.
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Don't just fight allergies with tissues.
(Diana Polekhina / Unsplash / FOX Weather)
Shower and time activities
Take a look at local pollen and mold levels when you wake up. If they are high, shut the windows and doors to keep the pollen out.
"If you do go outside – maybe you work outside, or you go outside for an activity, for a walk or jog – when you get back inside, take a shower, rinse your face, change your clothing," Nesheiwat said. "That can help."
The best time for those with pollen allergies to go outside is after a light rain. Pollen counts run highest on dry, hot and windy days, whereas they are lowest on cool, damp days. Pollen prime time is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you have significant allergies, consider a home air filter. Wear a mask while doing yard work.
Vacuum, wash sheets and shower before bed to keep the pollen from accumulating where you sleep.
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Watch: Gusty winds create pollen storm in North Carolina
Gusty winds create a pollen storm in Wake Forest, North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon.
Allergy shots
Allergy shots and under-the-tongue treatments help but are not the cure. Each targets a specific pollen, which does lessen your allergic reaction to it, but you have to stick with it.
You may still need medication to battle the allergies for which you are not being treated.
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A man covers his nose while sneezing.
(Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images)
Adult-onset allergies
Just because you didn't suffer from allergies as a kid, doesn't mean you don't have them now.
"Our bodies do change as we get older," Nesheiwat said. "Sometimes you can develop new adult-onset allergies."
So, that may not be a cold you are battling. If it lingers long enough, you might get a sinus infection which requires a doctor.
"Although there are many causes of sinus infections, your allergies are one of the leading factors," stated Houston Advanced Nose and Sinus. "A sinus infection occurs when there is an inflammation or swelling of the tissue lining the sinuses. Healthy sinuses are filled with air. However, when they become blocked and filled with fluid, germs can grow and cause an infection."
Houston Advanced Sinus recommends seeing a doctor if allergy symptoms are severe or linger for more than two weeks.
Hillsides and pastures covered in a carpet of golden field wildflowers are drawing thousands of visitors this spring to Carrizo Plain, home to thousands of migratory birds and the largest alkali wetlands in the state, on March 28, 2017, in Carrizo Plain National Monument, California. Located in the southeastern corner of San Luis Obispo County between the Temblor and Caliente mountain ranges, this 43-mile- long high valley is experiencing an epic wildflower "superbloom" of golden fields, tidy tips, tickweed, fiddleheads, lupine, and hillside daisies.
(George Rose / Getty Images)
How to find your pollen count
The American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology created a National Allergy Bureau, which reports pollen data at pollen.aaaai.org.