10 Tips to Lessen an Allergic Reaction to Pollen

Spring is when everything blooms anew; the butterflies are seen flitting about; bees darting about; grass is suddenly turning green again. Spring has the ability to elicit the feeling that life is good.

For some people though, springtime is the most dreaded season of the year; the red eyes, dripping nose, sneezing, stuffy head. Add a drop in the barometric pressure (on a pressure sensitive person) that comes with the springtime storms and you have one miserable individual.

Hay fever or Allergic Rhinitis can sometimes lead to sinusitis. Sinusitis can lead to nasal polyps after repeated infections. If you've ever dealt with sinusitis, that's more than enough reason to do whatever can be done to reduce your allergic reaction to pollen.

Pollen is a necessary evil that we can't live without but living with it is, for some people, almost unbearable. To lessen the effects of pollen allergies, there are a few things to try:

1. Take an antihistamine, use nose sprays or other medication
2. Wash bed linens daily
3. Shower before going to bed at night
4. If possible, stay indoors on windy days and days with projected high pollen counts
5. Keep windows closed in your home and in your car when traveling
6. Use a neti pot daily (or other sinus rinse) to wash potential allergens from the nasal cavity
7. Talk to your doctor about taking allergy shots that desensitize your immune system to the allergen
8. Dust inside your home often to remove pollen that entered with occupants or visitors
9. Wear a mask to the mailbox or while walking the dog to minimize exposure
10. Pets pick up pollen in the grass or in the air, then bring it inside the home. Wipe them down with a pet wipe available in stores that claim to reduce pet allergens. Also bath them as often as possible during heavy pollen.

Even with all these precautions followed to the letter, along with a doctors recommendations, there's still a good chance pollen will be a problem for allergy sufferers.

[source]

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52133

http://www.allergycapital.com.au/Pages/gpsinus.html