If you’re suffering from the pollen-induced haze that’s reportedly come 20 days earlier than expected, join the blossoming club. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America nearly 60 million American adults and more than 5 million children will suffer from what is the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S. – allergies. Louisiana has long been reported as one of the states with the highest pollen count, with an allergy season running January through November.
Allergists say that the yellow pollen on our cars, driveways and patios is not what is causing the irritation in our sinuses. That pollen is transferred by insects, like bees. The pollens that cause nasal and eye allergies are the small particles from trees, grasses, mold spores and ragweed blown by the winds.
Unless you get tested, it can be hard to identify which specific pollen is causing your symptoms. Wyndly, the at-home allergy testing and treatment company, has identified allergens specific to different areas of Louisiana. In this area, spring allergies are usually due to pollen from cedar, ash, maple, oak, mulberry, pecan, and hickory trees. Summer allergies often come from grasses – mainly Bermuda – bent, Timothy, and orchard. And in the fall, ragweed, pigweed, and marsh elder are the culprits of our misery.
Hay Fever/Allergy Symptoms
Sinus Pressure
Headache
Sneezing
Itchy, watery eyes
Coughing
Post-nasal drip
Prevention/Treatment
- Wash your eyes and eyelashes twice a day, using a mild face soap, in the morning and right before bed. “Your lashes serve as a protective overhang for the eyes and are actually quite sticky. Pollen sticks to them, and if you don’t scrub it away, it can chronically irritate your eyes.
- Eye lubricants not only keep eyes moist but wash away allergens. They can be used several times a day. Make sure they are preservative-free.
- Antihistamine drops temporarily relieve itchy, watery eyes.
- To help prevent, rather than just treat, chronic seasonal eye allergies use a dual-acting antihistamine/mast-cell stabilizer. Note: It does take a few weeks for the mast-cell stabilizers to work.
- Rinse out anything sitting in your nose with a non-medicated saline nasal rinse. Use a bulb syringe, neti pot or sinus rinse with saline water once, no more than twice, a day and preferably in the evening. Use distilled, filtered or cooled-down boiled water.
- Wear sunglasses to keep pollen off your eyelids and eyelashes – especially if you wear contacts. Be sure to change the soaking solution of your contacts and wash them daily.
- Change your pillowcases and bedding at least once a week.
- When coming in from extended periods outdoors, take a shower before sitting down on furniture or lying in bed, or at very least change those clothes.
- Don’t forget the dog or cat; they are magnets for pollen. Give them a good brushing, and wipe off their paws before they come into the house. Frequent pet baths are recommended.
- Before you cut down a bush or tree in your yard, thinking it’s the cause of your allergies, consider that pollen grains travel for miles, in some cases even 100 miles away.
- Check the pollen count through free apps like My Pollen Forecast or Allergy Plus.
- Wear a mask when mowing or doing yard work, particularly on dry, windy days.
- Diet: A growing number of studies have shown that diets high in antioxidants were found to reduce the nasal symptoms of hay fever. A diet rich in omega-3 and anti-inflammatory foods such as garlic, local honey, blueberries, and oily fish can help. Foods rich in dairy and refined sugars can raise cortisol and histamine levels and worsen the inflammatory reaction associated with hay fever.
- Try Probiotic-rich foods that include fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi and kombuchas. Prebiotic foods such as bananas, onions, garlic, asparagus, artichokes and whole grains are also helpful.
- Doctors say Vitamin C can reduce tissue inflammation and vitamin E and EPA, an omega-3 acid, protect against hay fever and have shown to decrease the risk of adults developing it.
According to allergists and immunologists, you can develop new seasonal allergies at any point in life; they can come up all of sudden in adulthood. Living in Louisiana, it would be wise to take some of these precautions.
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