Seasonal allergies

If you have allergies, or suspect that you do, here are some measures you can take to improve your symptoms:

1. Do not dry clothing, bedsheets, or towels on an outdoor clothesline. Rather, use an indoor drier. This prevents pollens and mould spores from getting into yourclothes, bedlinens and towels.
2. Close your windows and use your air conditioner instead, to prevent pollens and outdoor moulds from entering your home.
3. Wash out pollens and other allergens from your nasal passages with a saline nasal rinse (available over the counter at your pharmacy). You can also use saline eye drops to do the same for your eyes.
4. You can take oral antihistamine medications to treat itchiness and nasal and eye symptoms. These are available over the counter. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for specific formulations that are non-drowsy. Not all symptoms will respond equally well to antihistamines, however. For example, nasal congestion may require prescription medication.
5. Consult your doctor and ask for a referral to an Allergist: testing can be done to identify what you are allergic to. The Allergist can also recommend prescription medication for symptoms that may not have responded to oral antihistamine medication. Sometimes, desensitization injections are the preferred treatment if medications have not been effective.
6. If you can identify the plants or weeds such as ragweed to which you are allergic, you can attempt to remove them from your environment.

Source:
Devi Banerjee, M.D.
Attending physician, Division of Clinical Immunology & Allergy, MUHC
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University