It’s almost tree pollen season – here’s what you can do to help your allergies
Posted: 22nd February 2023 | Posted by Costa
It’s almost tree pollen season – here’s what you can do to help your allergies
While hay fever is seen as a ‘summer’ allergy, it can actually start much earlier than that for some people. While we may typically think of hay fever (otherwise known as allergic rhinitis) as an allergy to flower pollen, it usually isn’t. For some, it means an allergy to grass. Or weeds. Or trees, which are due to start causing symptoms any day now.
If you have the condition, you’ll know the familiar feelings of a stuffy nose, itchy eyes, a scratchy throat, or whatever your personal pains are. And starting from around March – or potentially even earlier – tree pollen could cause an allergic reaction. What can you do about it? Let’s take a look at some simple advice.
Look at pollen counts
It helps to know what you’re up against. Even if it seems early, make a habit of checking the pollen count every day. This will give you a rough idea of how you can react, and also help you monitor when you react.
You might find that low-pollen days don’t really affect you, so you don’t have to worry too much. Or you might discover the opposite – that it doesn’t take much to set you off. Getting into this rhythm will help with the next point…
Change it up
Knowing the pollen count means you can react to it. As we mentioned earlier, it has a way of affecting your eyes, nose, and throat. So you could use this knowledge to change how you dress. Maybe wear a mask to prevent you from inhaling pollen. Or wear sunglasses to keep it out of your eyes.
You might also find it helpful to change what you do when you get home. As you go about your day, you’ll pick up pollen. This will stick in your hair and on your clothes. If you don’t already, make a routine of changing when you immediately get back. Slip on some comfier clothes and put what you’ve been wearing in the wash basket.
And if you’re a ‘morning shower’ person, you could switch to showers in the evening. This will let you wash any pollen off your hair and skin, preventing you from taking it to bed with you, further aggravating your symptoms.
Know your medication
If you’ve had hay fever symptoms for a while, you’ll likely already know what your options are. But if you don’t, you might consider looking at what over-the-counter medicines can do for you.
The more popular ones are antihistamines, as these should work towards preventing your body from responding as badly to the pollen. Then you also have nasal sprays to deal with any annoying blockages and eye drops to stop the itching. Of course, this is a very general overview and we always recommend that you talk to your GP or an allergy specialist about your options.
So if you’ve ever suffered from springtime allergies, it might be the trees that are to blame. But with a bit of proactive work, you can calm the symptoms before they even begin. And if you’re still not sure about what to do, talk to a medical professional whenever you can.
If you ever have any questions about your allergies, we have a team of experienced specialists ready to help you out. You can register as a new patient any time by clicking here, or pick up the phone and call us on 02031 433 449 if you’d rather.