10 Tips to Eliminate Allergy Triggers From Your Home

50 million Americans suffer from allergies every spring. Sneezing. Coughing. Watery eyes. Stuffed up nose. Runny nose. Itchiness. You know the symptoms.

Hay fever is incredibly common and affects up to 40% of children and 30% of adults, and numbers are on the rise. Every spring when people should be out enjoying the sunshine and flowers and leaves, they’re stuck inside with a box of tissues instead.

But you don’t have to just sit in misery all spring long. There are a variety of different things you can do to help alleviate your allergies or prevent them altogether.

The Allergy Trigger Most People Don’t Know

A new study out of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology has recently identified stress as a major trigger for allergies.

A team led by Dr. Amber Patterson followed 179 patients for three months to study the relationship between stress and allergy flare-ups. The team discovered that people who reported one or more allergy flare-up were under significantly more stress than those that didn’t.

Even worse, over two different two-week periods, more than half of those under high levels of stress reported four flare-ups or more.

Patterson does warn that “alleviating stress won’t cure allergies,” but goes on to conclude that “it may help decrease episodes of intense symptoms.”

Whether allergy symptoms stress people out, or people who are stressed suffer more allergy symptoms, is somewhat unclear, but lowering your levels of stress may be a good place to start when it comes to preventing your allergies and alleviating your symptoms.

How to Lower Your Stress

For reducing your stress levels, Patterson recommends trying meditation, or doing some deep breathing exercises. It’s also important to recognize the things that are stressing you out and to attempt to remove them from your life.

Eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables can help, as it can with most everything health related. Getting enough sleep and some exercise is good too. Finally, you should try to make time for having some fun and relaxing, which can be tough when you’re fighting allergies. But hopefully the more time you make, the better your allergy symptoms will get, and the easier the whole thing will become.

Neti Pots, Spirulina, and Other Natural Cures

If relieving your stress isn’t enough, there are also some natural remedies you can try.

Using a neti pot to rinse out your sinuses is a good way to get rid of mucus and allergens, and relieve nasal congestion. Just be sure to use filtered water, or water that has been boiled and cooled, and that your neti pot is kept very clean.

Other natural remedies involving spirulina and Stinging Nettle are also worth a try.

How to Prevent Allergies Before They Start

There are also a lot of different thing you can do before you start suffering allergy symptoms.

For one, stay informed about pollen levels by checking them on tv or online. Stay inside when they’re highest and keep your windows and doors closed. Dusty days and early mornings are particularly bad.

If you have to go outside, make sure to change your clothes when you come back in, and take a quick shower to get rid of the pollen on your skin and in your hair. Try to get someone else to mow the lawn, if at all possible.

10 Tips For Keeping Your Home Allergen Free

Wash – your bedding, where mold, mites, and other allergens can hide.

Wipe – your bathroom and basement walls regularly. Anywhere that is moist will tend to breed mold, including where you take your shoes off at your door.

Tidy – your kitchen, where crumbs and overflowing garbage can quickly attract rodents, which are not only disgusting but can also aggravate allergies.

Close – your windows during the day when pollen is at its peak. A breeze might feel nice, but it’s not worth letting pollen into your home. Plus, keeping your windows closed during the hottest period of the day helps to keep it cool.

Dehumidify – your basement air. A humid basement creates the perfect conditions for allergy-causing mold to grow.

Keep – your plants in good health. Healthy houseplants can help clean the air in your home, but unhealthy ones can quickly form mold.

Bathe – your dog! Regular grooming can help keep their allergy aggravating abilities to a minimum. Not allowing them to snuggle in bed is also a good idea.

Organize – everything in your home. A cluttered home creates more spaces for dust and mites to gather.

Dust – as often as you can. Vacuum your rugs, your sofas, your everything. Keeping your home as dust free as possible is the best way to alleviate your allergies.

Filter – use a vacuum with a HEPA filter and change your air conditioning filter at least once a month.

If your allergies are still quite bad, talking to your doctor is always a good idea. He or she may have ideas you haven’t thought of and will have educated opinions about the different options available.