As winter turns to spring, we begin to think more about outside activities. However, spending more time outside is not always a good idea for everybody. Spring is when people with allergies usually suffer the most. If you are suffering from allergies, check out these frequently asked questions:

In general, what are people most allergic to?

Springtime allergies are most often due to tree pollen and in more humid climates, outdoor mold. Grass pollen is a big cause of summer allergies and weed pollen causes fall allergies.

What is the best treatment for allergies?

Initially, over-the-counter antihistamines can be tried for relief of allergy symptoms. Your health care provider should be consulted if you fail to respond to the use of over-the-counter antihistamines.

What other steps can be taken to reduce allergy symptoms?

  • Stay indoors on dry, windy days. The best time to go outside is after a rain, which helps clear pollen from the air.
  • Delegate lawn mowing, weed pulling, and other gardening chores that stir up allergens.
  • After spending time outside, take a shower to rinse pollen from your skin and hair and put on clean clothes.
  • Wear a face mask if you do outside chores
  • Start taking over-the-counter antihistamines when high pollen counts are forecasted even before your symptoms start.
  • Use air conditioning in your house and car.
  • Use high-efficiency air filters and change them frequently.
  • Keep indoor air dry with a dehumidifier.
  • Clean floors frequently with a vacuum cleaner.

How do you distinguish allergies from a cold?

The symptoms of a cold and allergies are similar. However, colds and allergies differ in three respects. A fever is common with a cold, but not for those suffering with allergies. Allergy sufferers frequently have itchy eyes, nose, throat, and even the roof of the mouth, but itchiness is not common with colds. Another distinguishing characteristic between colds and allergies is the duration of the symptoms. Colds usually last for 3-7 days, while allergy symptoms may last for an entire season.

Related Articles

We would love to learn what would be helpful on this page for you.

Articles by tag

2020 4th-of-July aberdeen ACLS AED air-purificaiton allentown Allergies amerigroup announcement Antibiotics anxiety Asthma autumn award awards Back-to-School baltimore baltimore-child baltimore's-child baltimore-sun beach bedside-manner bel-air Best-Of best-of-2019 best-workplace bethlehem Black-Friday blog Blood-Donation BLS blue-cross blue-shield capital-gazette children with disabilities Circadian-Rhythm cold-prevention colon-cancer concussion CPR cramp-prevention Dehydration dental-health depression Dermatitis Diabetes drowning drug screening Dry-Skin eastern-pa easton Eating-Disorders employees Ergonomics E-Scooter exercise eye-health fall fall-sports First-Aid fitness flu Flu-season flu-shots food-storage food-swaps football for moms for-moms for-parents fredericksburg free-play Generation-X-Health gift-ideas Good-Fats Halloween hand foot and mouth Hand-Washing Hanukkah harrisburg Head-Lice health-history health-symptoms healthy-eating healthy-living healthy-swaps heart-health Heat heat-safety hiking holiday Holidays horizonBCBS horizon-blue-cross horizon-blue-shield horizon-insurance Humidifier inclusivity inclusivity-&-accessability injury-prevention insurance jetlag Kidney Kwanzaa lehigh-valley life-support-class lyme maryland meal-prep mechanicsburg medical-records melanoma memory-retention Men's-Health Mental-Health millennial montco montco-pa montgomery-county montgomery-county-pa Movember myths new jersey new-center new-jersey new-year northern-va northern-virginia nova nurtition Nutrition occupational health osteoporosis outdoors PALS parent tips parenting-tips parent-tips patient-first pennsylvania pets philadelphia philly physicals poison-ivy poison-prevention Pregnancy primary care probiotics pumpkin recipe recipes registration reicpes Resolutions richmond Running safety safety-tips school-nurse services Setting-Goals shin-splings sick kid Sickness-Prevention skin sleep Smoke-Detector smoking soccer sore-throat south-jersey sports sports-physicals Spring spring-cleaning Stitches strep Strep-Throat stress stress-managment Stroke summer summer-sports sun-safety sunscreen TBI Teal-Pumpkin Teething tick ticks tips-for-parents top-physicians top-workplace traveling-tips travel-tips unitedhealthcare urgent-care vacation vaccinations vaccines Valentines-Day volunteering washington-dc washington-post washington-post-2019 wellness winter yard-work Yearly-Physical