Avoiding Outdoor Allergens

Tips for Your Home, Car, Yard and More

-- By Leanne Beattie, Health & Fitness Writer

Seasonal allergies affect more than 35 million people in the United States. Often prompted by sensitivities to outdoor allergens such as molds and pollens, seasonal allergy sufferers are prone to sneezing, congestion and itchy, watery eyes.

Allergy symptoms are often minimal on wet, cloudy or windless days because pollen does not circulate well under those conditions. Hot, dry and windy weather, however, increases the amount of pollen and mold in the air, resulting in more severe allergy symptoms.

If you are sensitive to outdoor pollens, you'll have symptoms at specific times of the year. If you have symptoms in the spring, you are probably allergic to tree pollens, while grass and weed pollens are most prevalent in the summer. If your allergies are worse in the later summer or fall, you are probably allergic to ragweed and tumbleweed pollens.

Here are some tips to help manage and control your exposure to outdoor allergens:

Avoid walking outdoors in wooded areas or gardens as much as possible. Keep the amount of vegetation around your home to a minimum.
Exercise indoors during the pollen season.
Stay indoors on hot, dry, windy days when pollen counts are usually the highest. Avoid going outside between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. in particular, as pollen counts are generally highest during these early morning hours.
Ask a friend or family member cut the lawn, which should be cut regularly to prevent the grass from growing tall enough to produce seed heads and pollens. If you can’t avoid doing the job yourself, wear a paper filter mask to help guard against your exposure to grass pollen. Stay away from freshly cut grass as much as possible.
Wear a paper mask while gardening to protect yourself from flower and weed pollens. Clean up and dispose of all plant waste immediately to prevent it from getting wet and moldy.
Place your compost bin further from your house if you are allergic to molds; have another family member add new materials to your compost pile when necessary, or wear a mask to keep your exposure to a minimum.
Don’t handle or rake leaves, hay or mulch if you are allergic to mold, as these are often a prime breeding ground for mold spores. Avoid cleaning gutters and piles of garden clippings that are full of wet leaves.
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About The Author

Leanne Beattie
A freelance writer, marketing consultant and life coach, Leanne often writes about health and nutrition. See all of Leanne's articles.

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