Oh Hello Pollen!

It's that time of year again! Spring is in the air... literally! I am among those that are allergic to the tree pollens that arrive in early spring; so allergic, in fact, that I historically have had bad episodes in March. This allergy season is kicking my butt! I think springtime hates me as much as I hate it. It's like a nymph singing to me "Come outside! Feel the warm sun on your skin! Dance with the breeze!" just to tempt me to crash and burn. I was trying to take walks: I'd pull my hair into a hat, take some meds before leaving, take a shower and neti when I got home and then I would sit down to take off my shoes and... pass out. Then as the pollen count grew higher and higher, every time I would go outside I'd start coughing... and then miss an hour of work trying to stop. I've come to embrace my boyfriend's raincoat though! It's great for zipping all the way up to protect my hair, most of my clothes and most of my face from the pollen. My coworkers tease me about it saying things like "Uh, Sara, it's not raining" and I respond with "Sure it is! It's raining pollen!" I've been having the last laugh though as others in my office sniffle and wipe residual pollen into their already itchy eyes. But then I feel bad and offer them an antihistamine and eye drops.My reactions to my allergens have become much better over the last couple of years thanks to a combination of habits & treatments, including that silly raincoat.

There are a lot of manifestations of allergies from itchy hives, eczema, runny nose, cough, asthma episodes, anaphylaxis, etc. and we are not always sure where they come from. The Mayo Clinic defines an allergy as an immune response including inflammation and the manufacture of antibodies to a substance that is not actually harmful. My biggest recommendation is to talk to your doctor and consider getting an allergist so that at the very least you can be tested so that you know what substances are your allergic triggers. Allergies can be life threatening so avoidance is ALWAYS your best option and knowing exactly what to avoid can make that a lot easier. Some allergens are relatively impossible to avoid (like dust and pollen) so you do your best and you create other good habits.

Now I am not going to claim to be a perfect patient. In fact, my doctors and I joke that I am not an ideal patient because I am not organized at all and due to my severe dust allergy I have an aversion to cleaning. Seriously, I'm a brat. Here is what I DO do:

Check the pollen count: I use Pollen.com's app. Generally, pollen counts are highest on sunny, windy days, in the morning and at dusk. They are usually lowest on rainy days. Knowing that helps me to plan my day around severe problems.

Keep windows closed: Pollen particles are eensy weensie and have no problem coming through my screens. If I must open my windows I try to do it on rainy days or at night.

Choose appropriate bedding: All of my covers can be and are washed in hot water and I wrap my pillows in dust mite barrier covers. You should also get one for your mattress. Sheets should be washed, again in hot water, weekly and comforters every 2-3 weeks.

Use a Neti Pot: This is another one of those Ayurvedic practices that I mentioned in my last post, except this one has a LOT of research behind it. If you have never seen or heard of a neti pot before, it is a teapot shaped device designed to rinse your sinus cavity by pouring water through one nostril and allowing it to flow out the other side. It is tremendously effective in rinsing the pollen out of your nose and whenever I have spent any time outdoors I use my neti.

Use Eyedrops: This is a trick that I learned from my optometrist- Keep single-use, preservative free artificial tears on you at all times and use them to moisturize your eyes throughout the day, especially if they're itchy. The trick is to use the whole single uses package, even if you're tearing up and half of it is dripping down your face. It's helping your eyes expel any debris (pollen and dust included) and basically disinfecting your eye. These are great to keep on hand anyway as they are exactly what your doctor is going to recommend if you ever scratch your eye or get any kind of infection.

Take a shower at night: You do not want to sleep with your allergies and pollen gets caught up in your hair and on your skin so it's important to rinse it off, just like you want to rinse it out of your nose. Now, I don't like to wash my hair every day, so I will sometimes just rinse it out or skip this step completely. Make sure to pay attention to washing your face though, especially your eyes because they do work so hard to keep pollen out.

Wear a hat: Keep as much of that pollen out of your hair as possible, especially if you're like me and don't like to wash your hair every day

Wear sunglasses: Give your eyelashes, eyebrows and eyelids a little help by putting a barrier between your eyes and the outside world to keep pollen away from your precious eyes.

Exercise safely: During high pollen counts try to move your workout indoors. When you do work out outside, remember to wear sunglasses, take some medicine, try to always breathe through your nose, neti and shower when you get back.

Wear a mask and gloves when cleaning, or just get someone else to do it. If I had the money for it, I'd get a cleaning lady to do the dusting & sweeping. In the meantime I medicate, barrier up, shower and leave while the dust "settles" but mostly I con my boyfriend into doing it when I'm not home.

Medicine: If all else fails, take allergy medicine, get allergy eye drops or nasal spray! They're there for a reason, kids!

Immunotherapy: I have a super awesome allergist that I see at least once per month for my allergy shots. I am about half way through my 5 year course of injections which contain a combination of serums containing the substances that I am allergic to (pollens, dust, etc). I have felt a profound impact on my allergies and after about 6 months I started to feel better and I have not had a severe allergic asthma episode since I started treatment. I still avoid my allergens when I can and I still take medication; I take Singulair every night and I take Zyrtek as I need it and prior to my shots. But man oh man have those shots been life-changing! My reactions are FAR less severe, if I react at all anymore. The best part? Just about every insurance plan covers them.


A word about food allergies and Oral Allergy Syndrome: Food allergies can be VERY serious, but there is something called Oral Allergy Syndrome where your mouth and throat can get itchy but you do not have any other reaction to the food. This may actually be a symptom of a pollen allergy and not a food allergy, which is great news because immunotherapy can eliminate those OAS symptoms so that you can eat those delicious and nutritious foods! If you have any type of reaction to a food please visit an allergist to find out if you are actually allergic to the food or if it is OAS. I used to react to apples and kiwi; now I don't! Now this graphic that I pulled from Dr. Oz suggests that these foods could be making your seasonal allergies worse, but that is the only time I have ever seen or heard that from any source, so I'm not sure how accurate that is. In fact, if any of these foods are giving you OAS symptoms you should be able to tolerated them just fine if they're cooked. The food list is pretty accurate though and would be a great starting point for a chat with your doctor.

We had a ROUGH winter this year, which sadly predicts a rough spring pollen season since everything is just blooming all at once. I'm going to keep my water up, keep cleaning my mouth and do everything I can to keep that pollen away! What are your favorite ways to combat your Spring allergies?