Tips to Help Prevent Hay Fever and Manage Symptoms
07.03.2022
Hay Fever season is typically between March and September when the weather is warmer. Pollen counts will be especially high when it is humid and windy, which can cause hay fever sufferers a lot of problems as they try to go about their daily life.
Hay fever symptoms include sneezing and coughing, a runny nose, itchy eyes, and even headaches, earaches, and fatigue. Unfortunately, there is no cure for hay fever. However, there are a few things people can do to help reduce and manage their hay fever symptoms and make their lives a little easier.
Keep Windows Closed
One of the best ways to help prevent hay fever symptoms is to prevent the pollen from getting inside your house. This means keeping all the doors and windows shut properly, so no pollen can sneak in through any gaps.
It might not be ideal to keep windows shut during warmer months, but by preventing pollen from entering your house, you can help to keep your symptoms to a minimum. You should especially try to keep windows shut at night and early in the morning as this is when the pollen count will be highest.
Don’t Bring Pollen Inside
As well as keeping pollen from coming in through windows, you should also make sure you’re not bringing it in the house yourself. This means that whenever you return home from being outside, you should change your clothes and also take a shower and wash your hair. This will remove all of the pollen that you might have picked up and rinse it away, so it won’t aggravate your symptoms. You should ask anyone else living in your home to do the same, even if they don’t suffer from hay fever themselves.
You should also wipe down any pets that have been outside with a damp microfibre cloth to remove any pollen that they might have picked up. Whilst they probably won’t appreciate having a bath every day, a wipe with a microfibre cloth will help to remove a lot of the pollen and stop it from entering your home and your sinuses.
You shouldn’t hang your clothes up outside to dry after they’ve been washed, as they will pick up pollen and bring it back into your home. Instead, use a tumble dryer or an airer inside.
Keep Your House Clean
As well as keeping yourself and others clean, you should also try to keep your home as clean as possible, to remove any pollen that might still get in. So, you should vacuum regularly, especially carpets where pollen can get embedded. You should mop hard floorings and also wipe down surfaces with a damp cloth to keep them clean from pollen. Using a damp cloth will pick up much more pollen than a dry duster, which could just move the pollen around and make your symptoms worse.
Use an Air Purifier
An air purifier can do the hard work of taking the pollen out of the air in your home for you, especially if you’re unable to fully prevent it from coming inside. Air purifiers will clean the air, removing allergens, like pollen, toxins and pollutants.
The Leitz TruSens air purifier collects all types of pollutants, including pollens and even airborne viruses, cleaning the air and improving the air quality in a room. The SensorPod senses pollutants, communicating the results back to the purifier so it can adjust accordingly. You’ll also be able to see the air quality in the room for yourself, with the colour-coded air quality readings displayed on the SensorPod. Our TruSens air purifiers feature 360 degree filtration to capture all common pollutants, even ultra-fine airborne particles. The filter is cleaned by UV sterilisation, which prevents germs, viruses, and pollen from being re-circulated. The specialist Allergy & Flu filter removes 99% of airborne viruses and allergens and is so effective it’s been certified by the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation (ECARF).
Take Hay Fever Medication
There are lots of different types of medications you can get over the counter that can help relieve hay fever symptoms. Whilst not everyone can take them, for example, pregnant people, antihistamines can be very effective in managing symptoms. There are different types of antihistamines available, like loratadine, cetirizine, and fexofenadine. You can speak to a pharmacist for advice on which antihistamine will be best for your particular symptoms.
As well as, or perhaps instead of, oral antihistamines, you could get eye drops. These will be especially helpful if you suffer from itchy, red eyes due to hay fever. You could also use a nasal spray which can help alleviate symptoms like a blocked or runny nose. You can get antihistamine nasal sprays, steroid nasal sprays, and decongestant nasal sprays, which will all work slightly differently to alleviate hay fever symptoms.
Check The Day’s Pollen Count
There are many places where you will be able to find information on the day’s pollen count, like the weather forecast on TV, the radio, or online. It’s best to check the pollen count for the day so you can prepare appropriately – some resources may even be able to give you information a few days in advance. Where possible, you’ll want to take medication before the symptoms start, so they can act as a preventative measure. If the pollen count for that day is high, make sure you take your preferred remedy.
If the pollen count is particularly high, it might be best to stay inside, if that’s possible. Dry and windy days will usually have the highest pollen count and so will be the worst for your symptoms. The lowest pollen count will be after heavy rain as the rain will clear the air of pollen, so that will be the best time to go outside.
Use a Cold Compress on Your Eyes
If your eyes feel dry and itchy, a quick solution can be to use a cold compress. Just submerge a flannel into a bowl of ice water and lay it on your closed eyes for 5 to 10 minutes. This can help to soothe your eyes and can also help to rinse away pollen that may be on your face.
Rinse Your Sinuses
If you’re suffering from a blocked nose, a saline sinus rinse can help you to breathe again. Saline solution will restore the moisture in your sinuses and reduce inflammation, opening up your airways. You can use a bulb syringe, neti pot, or sniff the saline solution from your clean cupped hands one nostril at a time to get it into your nasal passageway. You can make your saline solution at home or buy a kit at a pharmacy. If you’re making it at home, you will need to use distilled, sterilised water.
Protect Your Face
Staying indoors for the entire hay fever season will not be appropriate for most people. So, when you do have to outside, you should take precautions to protect yourself from pollen. You can wear a mask over your nose and mouth to reduce the amount of pollen that gets to your airways. You could also use wraparound sunglasses which will help to prevent pollen from getting into your eyes from all angles.
You should also apply a balm barrier, like Vaseline, around your nostrils. This will trap the pollen and stop it from getting into your airways.
See Your Doctor
If your symptoms are still getting worse or are unmanageable even after you have attempted these lifestyle changes, you should speak to your doctor. They will be able to offer professional medical advice on what you could do to help. It may be that prescription medication is required.
Leitz’s range of sleek air purifiers can help you to breathe cleaner air, and our speciality filtration solutions mean you can customise your air purification so it best meets your needs, including Allergy & Flu, Odour, and Pets.
Read more about alleviating allergy symptoms:
How Can Air Purifiers Help People with Allergies?