Spring is a beautiful season. Trees start blooming, flowers start growing, and there’s often a rain shower on the way. However, the springtime is also rough for sufferers of seasonal allergies. While everyone else is out enjoying the warmer weather, many allergy sufferers have to stay inside, clutching a box of tissues and drinking hot tea for some relief.

Springtime allergies are tough to handle, and they’re often frustrating. But don’t give up on finding relief from your seasonal allergy symptoms! At Cleared, we specialize in helping sufferers of seasonal allergies tackle their symptoms on a day-to-day basis and in the long run.

Thanks to a combination of immunotherapy, relief medications, and support supplements, we’ve come up with a hard-hitting allergy treatment plan that may be just what you’re looking for.

Now, let’s explore the causes behind spring allergies, as well as what you can do to get relief from your symptoms.

Why Do We Get Spring Allergies?

In many cases, the people who experience their worst allergy symptoms during the spring months have pollen allergies. Pollen is a tiny, dust-like substance that many plants release to help them propagate their species. While pollen is technically harmless, many peoples’ immune systems react negatively to it, perceiving it as a threat.

This adverse reaction to pollen can cause a laundry list of uncomfortable symptoms, including coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, a running nose, and more. If you deal with spring allergies, this is all old news to you – you go through it every year!

“Hay Fever” Explained

Many doctors refer to spring allergies as “hay fever.” This terminology can be confusing, as it can make it sound like a person experiencing allergy symptoms will have fevers. In reality, sufferers of hay fever are unlikely to have a fever at all. If you’ve got a temperature, it most likely means that the symptoms you’re experiencing are due to being sick with a virus or bacterial infection, not because of seasonal allergies.

Is It Allergies or a Springtime Cold?

When you start dealing with allergy symptoms in the spring, it’s easy to wonder if you’re getting sick. The common cold and spring allergies can look deceptively similar, but there are a few key differences that can help you determine whether you’re contagious or just having allergies.

If you have a cold, you may be running a low fever. With allergies, on the other hand, an elevated temperature is unlikely. In addition, while both colds and allergies can make your nose runny, a cold often makes your snot look discolored, whereas seasonal allergies won’t affect the color of your mucus. We know that’s pretty nasty, but there’s no other way to say it.

In addition, cold symptoms typically subside after around three days to a week. Allergy symptoms, however, can last for weeks or months. It all depends on how long the pollen count stays elevated.

What Makes Spring Allergies Worse?

If you’re dealing with spring allergy symptoms, you’ll definitely want to avoid doing the following things:

• You are going months without replacing your air filter. While you’re most likely going to deal with pollen allergy symptoms when you’re outdoors in the spring, an old, worn-out air filter can leave you sneezing and blowing your nose inside.

Your air filter acts as the buffer between you and all of the pollen, dust, mold, and other debris that flow in through your AC unit. Make sure to replace it every few months.

• Keep windows open at night. While the spring air blowing into your room at night can feel, in a word, amazing, it’s definitely not the best move if you’re allergic to pollen. The wind can bring pollen into your house from outside, disrupting your sleep and leaving you feeling exhausted in the morning.

• You are getting lazy about cleaning. Spring cleaning can look like decluttering and giving away things you don’t need, but it’s also essential to keep the surfaces in your home free of dust, germs, and pollen in the spring.

Allergens can come in through doors and windows day in and day out, especially when pollen counts are high. That means it’s a must to stick to a regular cleaning routine, all the while keeping windows closed the majority of the time. That way, you’ll block pollen’s access to your home.

• You are getting too cuddly with your pets. Pets are the best, but their coats can pick up tons of pollen during the spring. Even if you don’t have allergies to animals, the pollen, dust, and debris that get caught in your pets’ fur can make your spring allergy symptoms much worse. The solution? Bathe your pets regularly, especially after they spend lots of time playing outside.

• You are skipping the allergy meds. Taking medication for your allergy symptoms is one of the best ways to get the relief that you need. At Cleared, we recommend a combination of immunotherapy treatments, antihistamines, and/ or anti-inflammatories depending on your symptoms and the severity of your symptoms. In addition, supplements may help keep symptoms from getting worse.

When you book an at-home allergy test with us, we’ll use the results to prescribe you the best lineup of medication to handle your symptoms.

• You are spending too much time outside. When pollen counts are high, being outdoors a lot can majorly exacerbate your symptoms. We know it’s a bummer, but it may be best to stay inside when winds are high in the spring. It’s especially helpful to avoid going out on windy spring days if you can since this type of weather brings lots of pollen with it. To see if the pollen count is high where you live, check out this pollen forecast.

Want to Learn More About Allergy Management?

If you’re curious about the ins and outs of diagnosing, managing and treating seasonal allergies, we’ve got all the info you need. Click here to visit the Cleared blog and learn more.

Reviewed by Dr. Payel Gupta

Sources:

Hay Fever (Rhinitis) | Symptoms & Treatment | ACAAI Public Website Cold or allergy: Which is it? | Mayo Clinic What is Pollen? | Ucanr.edu Seasonal allergies: Nip them in the bud | Mayo Clinic Your Pollen Forecast | Klarify.me