It's Allergy Season, Time to Practice Pollen Control

You’re barely finished celebrating the end of winter when it starts. The itchy eyes, scratchy throat, stuffy nose, sneezing and coughing. Welcome to allergy season, that time of year when billions of grains of pollen invade the air triggering a misguided immune response in some 35 million Americans. Allergic rhinitis—aka hay fever—ranks as one of the country's most common chronic diseases, leading to millions of missed work days and costing billions of dollars in medical care and lost productivity. Left unchecked, it can lead to sinus or ear infections and worsening of asthma. So, now that you know hay fever is nothing to sneeze at, here are some facts about the causes and tips on how to control the seasonal symptoms.

You can run but you can’t hide

Among North American plants, weeds (in particular, ragweed) are the most prolific producers of allergenic pollen. These plants make small, light, dry pollen grains that are custom-made for wind transport. Amazingly, scientists have collected samples of ragweed pollen 400 miles out at sea and 2 miles high in the atmosphere. Of the 50,000 different kinds of trees, fewer than 100 have been shown to cause allergies, these include:

• Oak
• Ash
• Elm
• Hickory
• Pecan
• Box elder
• Mountain cedar

Some grasses that produce allergy-provoking pollen:

• Timothy grass
• Kentucky bluegrass
• Johnson grass
• Bermuda grass
• Redtop grass
• Orchard grass
• Sweet vernal grass

You could attempt to “allergy-proof” your yard and garden by selecting
plants that pollinate through insects rather than by releasing pollen.
Unfortunately, you can’t avoid the wind-blown pollens from other trees
and plants, which often travel long distances.

Practice Pollen Control

There are steps you can take to mitigate the effect of the offending pollen, both indoors and out.

• Avoid the outdoors between 5-10 a.m. Save outside activities for
  late afternoon or after a heavy rain, when pollen levels are lower.
• Keep windows in your home and car closed to lower exposure to pollen.
  To keep cool, use air conditioners and avoid using window and attic
  fans.
• Purchase an air filter to clean out pollens.
• Since pollen can be transported indoors on people (and pets), leave
  shoes at the door and wash your clothes in hot water as soon as
  possible.
• When washing your clothes, use a dryer rather than hanging them outside where pollen can collect.
• Wash your hair every day to rinse off pollen.

But allergies don’t have to keep you locked indoors, you can
even work in the garden if you take some precautions. Dr. Ewen Tseng,
an otolaryngologist at Baylor Medical Center in Frisco, Texas, offers
these tips to avoid allergens when you’re doing your spring landscaping:

• If you’ve been prescribed an oral antihistamine by your doctor, be sure to take it before heading  outdoors.
• Wear protective clothing, including gloves, to reduce exposure to
  allergens and avoid transferring pollen from your hands to your eyes
  and nose.
• Wear a mask. “Think of the nose as a filter,” says Dr. Tseng. “For seasonal allergies, the nose is the first line of defense.”
• Wash your hands, change clothes and shower after you’re finished.
• “An alternative to wearing a mask is nasal irrigation with saline
  [saltwater] to rinse allergens from the nose—it’s like cleaning your
  own air filter,” adds Dr. Tseng. Irrigation kits are available at
  pharmacies  and grocery stores.