Common Mistakes People Do That Can Worsen Allergies

Allergies are a nuisance. That’s why people who suffer from allergies take various measures to try and reduce their impact on their lives. However, in treating them, some people adopt habits and routines that could worsen the allergies. Here are some of the common mistakes people make that can worsen allergies.

1. Ignoring the Symptoms

One of the major mistakes people make when treating allergies is ignoring the symptoms. Sometimes, it’s hard to determine whether you have seasonal allergies or a cold. Whenever you experience allergy-like symptoms, you should not ignore them, hoping they’ll go away.

Normally, allergy symptoms occur about the same time each year and can last for a couple of weeks. A lot of allergies are common during the spring and fall seasons. Therefore, whenever you experience these symptoms, you can talk with an ENT doctor in Philly to know how best to manage your allergies.

2. Overusing Nasal Sprays

Often, people use nasal sprays to treat allergies. However, these sprays could also worsen allergies. Experts advise people to use nasal sprays for a maximum of five days. Overusing the sprays could irritate the lining of your nose and sinuses.

Additionally, overusing the nasal sprays could make your nose get congested. People make the mistake of overusing these sprays with the hope that they can ease the stuffiness. Unfortunately, all this does is worsen the symptoms.

3. Eating Foods that Aggravate the Allergies

When treating allergies, you should avoid taking foods that aggravate your allergies. Notably, individuals suffering from pollen allergies eat specific fresh vegetables and fruits, which cause an itchy throat or mouth.

This itchiness is referred to as oral allergy syndrome. And it occurs after you’ve eaten the offending food. The irritation occurs because the immune system identifies some similarity between the proteins in the vegetable or fruits with some pollen. If you don’t want to experience these symptoms, you should peel, cook, or avoid these foods when you have an allergy.

4. Failing to Take Medication Early Enough

People usually take antihistamine medication to treat allergies. Notably, they take nasal steroid sprays to treat a stuffy nose, among other allergies. Doctors usually advise people to take the medicines accordingly. Waiting until the symptoms begin to take the medication might be a little late.

It would be best if you started taking the medication a few weeks before the allergy season. Doing this will ultimately benefit you. Moreover, it would help if you continued taking these medicines until the pollen in the air has disappeared and the allergy season has ended.

5. Failure to Talk to Your Doctor about Prescription Medication

Some people prefer to treat their allergies through over-the-counter drugs. A majority of these drugs are only effective in controlling the symptoms. However, if you have severe symptoms, you should visit your doctor to get prescription medication.

The doctor will prescribe drugs that will offer better relief. You don’t need to suffer from these allergies when there’s this viable solution. Additionally, your doctor can recommend immunotherapy, which is allergy shots.

Over time, immunotherapy proves quite effective in reducing your body’s reaction to allergens. That implies that you may not always require medication to control your allergies after receiving the shots. In most cases, these allergy shots make the symptoms less severe.

6. Bringing Allergens into Your Home

One of the proven ways to reduce allergies is by avoiding allergens. Therefore, if you bring the allergens into your home, your treatment plan cannot be effective. When you go outside, you’re bound to come across pollen, which sticks to your hair, skin, and clothes.

So, when you get back inside with the pollen, it will most likely trigger your symptoms. To counter these effects, you need to take a shower once you come from the outdoors, especially during allergy season. Ensure to wash your hair with some shampoo to get rid of the pollen.

Additionally, you should keep the windows in your car, and the home closed. Experts advise people to use their air conditioner instead. Additionally, you need to ensure that your air conditioner and a vacuum cleaner have a HEPA filter. Such equipment will successfully remove allergens in your home.

7. Failing to Rinse Your Nose

Another common mistake people make when treating allergies is not rinsing their noses. Doctors advise people to always rinse their nasal passages, especially during allergy season. The best thing is that a bottle of saline nasal wash is easily available at a drugstore near you.

Moreover, a bottle of nasal wash comes at a friendly price. It is also safe and very effective. Alternatively, you can rinse your nasal passages with a neti-pot with sterile or distilled water. Rinsing your nose helps to get rid of the allergens. Moreover, the action flushes out extra mucus, which could build-up resulting in a stuffy nose.

8. Going Outdoors When the pollen Count is High

Pollen greatly contributes to allergens, and they’re mostly found outdoors. Therefore, when you go outdoors when the pollen season is high, you will probably develop allergy symptoms and have a harder time treating them.

You need to limit how much you get around pollen, as well as other seasonal allergens. You need to stay indoors as much as you can when the pollen counts are high. You need to check your local weather forecast to determine when the counts are high.

Usually, the levels are highest in the morning and low when it rains. But you need to know that the counts get high quickly when the rain stops. Also, the levels get higher when it’s windy. If you have to go outside when the pollen counts are high, you need to wear a pollen mask.