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Step 1
The simplest way of dealing with pollen allergies is to reduce your exposure to pollen. I have found five effective methods.
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Step 2
The first method is to use central air conditioning instead of a swamp cooler, because central air conditioning will filter the pollen out of the air. This makes it the best allergy preventative that I know!
There are also air filtering machines out there, such as the Hepa filter, but they do one room at a time while central air conditioning will clear the air of the entire house. -
Step 3
My second method is to do most of my outside activities in the morning, before the bulk of the days pollen has been released. By the time the day has gotten hot, the pollen count will be VERY high!
By only doing yard work in the morning I can both reduce my pollen exposure and enjoy outside activities. I have a large garden, but, in the spring, during my pollen season, I tend it in the early morning. -
Step 4
Washing my hair before bed is method number three. Hair traps pollen during the day and when you wash the pollen out, that means that the next 8 hours of sleep will NOT be spent with pollen against your face!
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Step 5
My fourth method is to keep your lawn mowed. Most types of grass will not bloom unless they have a chance to grow more than a couple of inches: Kentucky Bluegrass is an exception as I have seen it blooming when it is only 2 inches tall. When I reseed my lawn, I AVOID mixtures with Kentucky Bluegrass in them! I am still affected by my NEIGHBORS lawn, of course, but that is 20 feet away from my door and so the exposure is not as great.
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Step 6
My fifth method is a bit drastic: MOVE!
When I moved FROM a warm climate TO a season that had a real winter, I was shocked! I had never realized that I could feel this good! I have been half sick all of my life but I had never realized it, because I had never really been well!
And, because my body gets a rest every year, my body is much slower to react to pollen when I AM exposed. My body is no longer hyper-vigilant, waiting to react badly to the first whiff of pollen.
Of course, one cannot avoid pollen entirely unless a person is a dedicated, hermit, which I am not. I *DO* go outside in the heat of the day, even during pollen season. For this, I medicate. -
Step 7
I find that Benedryl is the most effective way of medicating my allergies, but it makes me terribly sleepy which will ruin a trip very quickly. Instead, I use Claritin or Allegra. Both have non-drowsy formulas which I very much appreciate.
Both Claritin and Allegra take time to set in, so for an acute allergy Benedryl might still be the best medicine to take. But, Benedryl leaves your system in a few hours, while Claritin and Allegra last the entire day.
For symptoms that occur in spite of the pills, there are decongestants that help and there are eye drops that help. I no longer use these, but any pharmacist can direct you to over-the-counter brands. -
Step 8
The REASON that I no longer need these is because I have been taking allergy shots for 5 years now. I started out with shots once a week, but as my tolerance to pollen grew I was cut back to one shot a month. The results have been quite good: during the peak of my allergy season I now just need one time-release pill a day. When it is NOT my peak allergy season I use perhaps one Claritin a month.
For the first time in my life I am well. And, I love it.
