Conquering your summer allergy

Posted: 9th July 2018 | Posted by Costa

Conquering your summer allergy

With summer upon us, we will be filling our streets and green spaces with people enjoying the sun in all its glory. But, if you suffer from a summer allergy, you know that this isn’t always the case. With millions of people suffering from hayfever throughout the UK, which has been increasing recently due to many people developing it in their middle-aged years, summer isn’t always the best time for everyone.

But there are a few things you can do to help fight those runny noses, sneezes, and puffy eyes.

Get tested

If you find yourself dealing with constant sneezing, and itchy or puffy eyes during the summer, then it’s highly likely that you have an allergy. If you haven’t already been tested to find out what’s causing it, this is the first step on your way to a slightly better summer.

Knowing what the principal culprits are could seriously help you avoid overexposure to them. The most common summer allergens include:

• Weeds – ragweed, cockleweed, pigweed, Russian thistle, sagebrush, and tumbleweed.
• Mould – Mucur Racemosus, Cladosporium Herbarum, Alterniaria Tenuis.
• Grasses – Bermuda, blue grasses, fescue, Bahia grass, Timothy, Johnson and rye.

Filter indoor air

The summer can be unbearable sometimes, especially in houses made of solid brick without air conditioning. But that being said, ensuring your indoor air is filtered will help you when it comes to your allergies.

You can do this by keeping windows and doors closed, and although it may be warm, fans are always a handy device to have around (although they aren’t without their own issues).

Know when to go out

Some days will be better for you than others. So ensuring you keep an eye on the daily pollen count will be highly beneficial to you.

If you know what allergens can trigger your symptoms, this will also be extremely helpful. It’s always important to find out exactly what’s to blame, as different months have higher levels of different allergens, for example:

• June – the key month for grass pollen.
• July – beginning of mould spore season.
• August – this is when ragweed begins to emerge.

Dry clothes indoors

The sun may be shining, and the weather may be hot. You’ll probably be making the most of it by drying your washing in the sun. You’ll probably find you have a lot more washing during the summer too. But, if you suffer from summer allergies dry them inside. You should be able to prevent airborne allergens from getting trapped in the fibres by doing this – meaning all that hard work washing them away would have been wasted. Instead, opt for clothes dryers you can pop up inside.

An allergen-free bedroom

Keeping your bedroom free of summer allergens could drastically help you reduce your symptoms. You can do this by changing your bedding regularly and by ensuring that clothes hampers are moved to another room; you could even change out of clothes in other rooms to avoid your room being full of pollen.

If you’ve been suffering from sneezing, puffy eyes or something similar and you don’t know the cause, maybe it’s time to book an appointment with a specialist consultant. At the London Allergy and Immunology Centre, we can test for over 100 different allergies at once to diagnose your symptoms and find the most effective treatments. Book an appointment here to take the first steps to living a more comfortable, symptom-free summer.