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The birds are singing, the ground is beginning to thaw, and the afternoon sun feels just a bit warmer. There’s no denying it – spring is just around the corner. And that means more time spent outdoors enjoying the longer days and warmer weather.
But if you’re an allergy sufferer, springtime is anything but a walk in the park. The sneezing, itchy and watery eyes, and scratchy throat can make the simplest activities – like gardening, mowing the lawn, or taking your kids to the park – close to if not downright unbearable.
Luckily, there are a few things you can do to lessen the severity of springtime allergies. Here are 10 helpful tips to ease allergy symptoms, so that you can enjoy all that the season has to offer.
Flush out allergens and loosen mucus with a squirt of saline nasal spray.
Take a shower and change your clothes after being outdoors, especially if you’ve been gardening or mowing the lawn.
Wash your hair and face at night to rinse out any allergens that you may have picked up during the day.
Use steam inhalation to moisten dry nasal passages and flush out mucous. Simply pour boiling water into a bowl, drape a towel over your head to create a tent, and breathe in deeply through your nose for about 10 minutes. Add a couple drops of eucalyptus oil to the bowl for an added boost.
Wear a filter mask while doing any outdoor chores.
Monitor pollen counts and try to plan your outdoor activities around peak times, keeping in mind that pollen counts are generally higher during the afternoon.
Add air purifying plants into your home. Some not only help to purify the air, like lady palm and bamboo palm, but can actually remove allergens from the air, to consider are areca palm, which humidify the air, like dracaena.
Keep the humidity level in your home under 50%.
Clean or replace your HVAC filters once a month or as instructed by the manufacturer. And don’t forget the filter on your vacuum cleaner.
Though not scientifically backed, some claim that eating locally produce honey daily can help relieve allergies.
Let’s go back to #8 for just a moment. As in, was your first reaction: “How on earth am I supposed to do that?!” Well, suffice it to say, we wouldn’t have brought it up if we didn’t have a ready-made solution. And that is: a whole-house de-humidifier. In addition to helping you keep your allergies under control, it also will help lower your energy costs as, during the summer, you’ll feel just as cool at higher temperature settings when there’s less humidity in the air. For more information and a custom quote, contact GBT Heating & Cooling today.