Spring Sneezes

Everyone loves the springtime as the drab winter moves out and the beautiful spring moves in. The world begins to fill with fresh colors and new life and you are filled with happiness … achoo … and sneezes. For many people, allergies also come with the spring season.

So what exactly is causing the allergies? And how can you make it stop?

As spring begins, plants release pollen into the air. This pollen then travels right into your system resulting in an itchy nose, eyes, and throat along with sneezing, coughing, headaches, and sometimes more! The reason that the pollen has this reaction on your body is that your immune system makes an error and thinks it is a dangerous object. Your immune system then uses antibodies to try and fight off the allergens and releases histamines into your blood which triggers the allergy symptoms.

Plants that can trigger your allergies include:

Trees: alder, ash, aspen, beech, box elder, cedar, cottonwood, cypress, elm, hickory, juniper, maple, mulberry, oak, olive, palm, pine, poplar, sycamore, willow
Grass and Weeds: bermuda, fescue, johnson, June, orchard, perennial rye, redtop, saltgrass, sweet vernal, timothy
Mold: leaf piles, rotten logs, basements, bathrooms

Avoiding this pollen can be difficult as it comes from lots of plants and can even travel through the air, by wind, from miles away. Even rain can make pollen worse as it promotes plants and pollen to grow. To attempt avoiding the pollen you can do things such as:

Stay indoors with windows closed on days when the pollen count is high
Clean your air filters frequently
Vacuum often
Change your clothes and wash your hair after being outside

So if you can’t completely avoid pollen, what can you do to relieve your allergy symptoms? Symptoms vary from person to person but luckily there are things to help relieve the dreaded seasonal allergies. These things include: