Seasonal Allergies: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

If you have seasonal allergies, you need to figure out what triggers it off in order to avoid them. Wearing a mask can help in extreme situations, too.

Certain parts of the year are a huge nuisance for people with seasonal allergies. For example: constant sneezing, watery eyes, stuffed nose, and your pockets are full of tissues.

So, continue reading to learn about seasonal allergies and figure out if you have them. We’ll go over the symptoms and natural treatments as well.

What are seasonal allergies?

Certain trees, bushes, and other plants release pollen and spores into the air that some people’s bodies react to. The reactions vary in severity, but basically your immune system sees these particles as invaders. To protect you, your body releases substances that end up causing allergy symptoms.

Symptoms

Seasonal allergies involve symptoms that may last for several days in a row, such as the following:

• Excessive production of nasal mucus
• Congestion
• Red eyes
• Sneezing
• Cough
• Watery eyes
• Itching

Treatment

In certain parts of the year, pollen levels may get very high. However, even if you have seasonal allergies, there’s no reason you have to stay at home. Your allergist can come up with a treatment plan designed for you and your allergies. It may include:

• Steroid nasal sprays treat inflammation in the nose. You use it once or twice over the course of the day.
• Antihistamines, these prescriptions help reduce itching. Remember that many of them cause sleepiness, so never use them if you have to drive or handle dangerous machinery.
• Congestion medication can improve your symptoms on a short-term basis. However, they’re not good for extended use because they could be counterproductive; they should be limited to 2 or 3 days max. They’re also not appropriate for people with high blood pressure.
• Allergy shots may be prescribed by a doctor if the symptoms are incapacitating or severe.
• Allergy tablets dissolve under your tongue, they have a similar effect to shots, and are taken every day during allergy season.

Tips

These tips should help if you have seasonal allergies.

• The weather forecast will predict pollen levels every day, so keep tabs on it and plan your outdoor activities accordingly.
• It could also be very helpful to find out what type of pollen you’re allergic to, since each plant releases it at different times of the year. That way you can avoid it better.
• Take a shower before bed to get any allergens off of your skin.
• Close your windows if you can to keep them from coming in.
• Wear a mask if you know you’ll be in an area where you’ll be exposed to the allergen.

Natural remedies

Natural medicine can be very effective for seasonal allergies. Here are some natural remedies to try:

• Remove toxins from your body with a detox diet.
• Avoid foods high in histamine, such as orange juice, coffee, dairy products, processed meat, and seafood.
• Take probiotic supplements to keep your intestinal bacteria healthy.
• Take care of your liver, because allergies are related to an overworked liver.
• Drink a lot of water, apart from meals, to cleanse your body.
• Nettle is a very powerful medicinal plant for allergies.
• Look for homeopathic remedies; there’s one for each different allergy.