Fall Allergies
Tips to help prevent fall allergies
In the fall, people are indoors more, triggering more allergies and asthma
In the fall, kids go back to school and adults return to work (or never left). Being indoors more then increases their exposure to indoor allergens such as pets (especially dogs and cats) and house dust mites. In addition, infections (viruses, colds, flu, etc.) are on the rise during this period and are potent triggers of asthma attacks, as well as sinus and ear infections. To make things worse, asthma often escalates in the fall as well.
How to treat fall allergies
There are 3 important ways to treat fall allergies (or any allergies):
1) Avoid and/or eliminate
cover pillows and mattresses with anti-allergen encasings
remove/control mold in your home by frequently cleaning and repairing water leaks or dampness
remove pets or restrict them to certain areas of your house.
2) OTC Medications
OTC medications used to treat allergies include long acting, less sedating antihistamine medications such as Claritin, Zyrtec and Allegra. Two nasal steroids, Nasacort AQ and Flonase OTC, have also become available over the past year.
