Allergy Season

Welcome to allergy season!  I don’t know about you, but I now suffer terribly from seasonal allergies and I never did before as a child or young adult.  It’s no fun!

Seasonal allergies (tree and grass pollen, ragweed, and other outdoor allergens) can affect older adults more than younger people, with symptoms that can feel like a common cold: post-nasal drip, coughing, and frequent throat clearing. Heavy post-nasal drip and coughing can trigger bronchitis and this can be particularly difficult for people with other breathing problems like asthma or COPD.  

So what can we do?  After a long winter we all want to get outside and walk or do yard chores and we often want to sleep with the windows open and enjoy the fresh air. 

The first thing many people do is turn to allergy medication.  A lot of allergy medication is over the counter, and while generally safe, OTCs may not interact well with a person’s existing prescription medication or may not be the best choice for older adults.  For instance, older adults are advised to use Benadryl with caution or to avoid it, since it can trigger dizziness, delirium, and confusion in older adults, and that can lead to a fall and potential fracture.  According to Harvard Health, safer alternatives include second-generation antihistamines like loratadine (Claritin), cetirizine (Zyrtec), or fexofenadine (Allegra), which do not have the same severe effects on the brain.

Ways to survive seasonal allergies: 

• Check the daily pollen count to determine when you need the highest degree of prevention strategies.  You can google this or “ask Alexa or Siri” if you have those devices. (Hint: most all modern iPhones have “Siri”- just ask your phone by stating “hey Siri” and then your question!)
• Medications:  over the counter and prescription; ask your provider or pharmacist.  Many get relief with the OTC steroid nasal spray Fluticasone (Flonase) as well as oral medication.
• Wear a well-fitting mask over mouth and nose when outdoors on the highest pollen-count days
• Wearing glasses/sunglasses outdoors and help keep allergens away from your eyes
• Use air conditioning and a HEPA air filter indoors and keep windows closed on the highest pollen-count days.  Replace the filters regularly. 
• Vacuum daily and make sure your vacuum has a HEPA filter and replace the filter frequently
• Change clothes and shower immediately after outdoor activity. Your dog might need frequent bathing or rinsing off if they spend significant time outdoors 
• See an allergist for allergy testing if you suspect significant seasonal allergies.  Testing can pinpoint your specific allergies and an allergist can design the best medication routine for you or offer desensitizing shots if that will help.  If your allergies are like mine and trigger an asthma-like reaction, you might need an inhaler to help with those symptoms.  
• There is a new indoor spray, Clorox PURE, designed to minimize allergens indoors per the Clorox web site.  They state the plant-based active ingredient neutralizes allergens by changing the shape of the protein structure itself, so the allergen can no longer bond to receptors in the body and trigger a reaction.  I can’t find the actual studies, so decide for yourself.  it’s about $5 per aerosol can and I’m giving it a try.  

Good luck managing and avoiding seasonal allergies- it was a long, cold, snowy winter and we all deserve a dose of outdoor time without coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and being miserable!