麻豆频道

Runny nose. Scratchy throat. . . Aaaaaahh-chooooo!

What鈥檚 up with you?

It鈥檚 likely you鈥檙e suffering from .

In the Syracuse-Central New York region, a place regularly cited as on the nation鈥檚 list of areas worst for allergy sufferers, we鈥檝e just finished peak season for spring . This usually runs from April through mid-June, though symptoms can linger longer for some. Still, there鈥檚 no need to suffer when there are simple ways to manage your symptoms and at least get some relief, says LeeAnne Lane, R.N., nurse manager at the Barnes Center at The Arch.

听Avoid Triggers

The simplest way to avoid having allergy symptoms is to avoid your allergy triggers, says Lane. However, it鈥檚 very hard to avoid pollen, which can be everywhere this time of year.

You can鈥檛 live your whole life indoors, but these tactics can help you get through allergy season:

• Don鈥檛 hang laundry outside. Pollen can easily cover it, and when you put those clothes on, you鈥檙e wearing all that!
• If you鈥檝e been working or playing outside, change your clothes and take a shower once you鈥檝e come back in.
• If grass cutting worsens your symptoms, don鈥檛 be outside when your neighbor is mowing the lawn and wait for a few hours before going outside.
• Wear sunglasses. They offer a barrier to circulating pollens when you鈥檙e outside. (They鈥檒l also disguise your red, itchy allergy eyes and mean less explaining you might have to do.)
• Consider wearing a mask outside. (Yes, really!) This step can truly help block allergens, Lane says, so for those with severe allergies, it is worth doing.

If you can鈥檛 avoid triggers, you don鈥檛 have to just suck it up. There are some simple ways for you to manage your symptoms.

• Some people opt to use over the counter or prescription medications. These typically include antihistamines. Your pharmacist can offer information on which ones might work best for you and those to avoid regarding interactions with other medications.
• Thinking about taking Benadryl? Better think ahead, says Lane. This antihistamine tends to make users sleepy鈥攕o it鈥檚 a better option for bedtime.
• Eye drops (regular and those made specifically for allergy symptoms) can help alleviate the red, itchy-eye thing. (That doesn鈥檛 help much if you鈥檙e one of those people who doesn鈥檛 like to鈥攐r has a true aversion to鈥攑utting anything in their eyes.)
• Others may choose to see allergy specialists, undergo allergy testing or take on a series of allergy shots to desensitize their systems to specific allergens.

The Environment

While we can鈥檛 control Mother Nature, you can have some impact on how much of the outdoors you let get inside.

• Are cars awash with veils of and are the trees shedding? That鈥檚 not the time to open your windows, Lane says.
• Avoid environments that bother you (i.e., don鈥檛 go for a walk near a field of goldenrod if you鈥檝e got a goldenrod鈥攐r ragweed鈥攁llergy.)
• Be aware of the . Check the weather so you know which days are better to remain indoors.
• Check the clock. Pollen counts are higher earlier in the morning, get lower as the day goes on, then drop overnight. Plan .
• Use air conditioning. In your car, the 鈥渋nternal air circulation鈥� cuts down on pollen entering your vehicle. Air conditioning your indoor space can help ease symptoms too, especially if you have a whole-house system. Window air conditioning units still pull air in from the outdoors, and while they鈥檙e helpful, you must maintain them, and regularly change the filters.

Boosting Immunity

听During allergy season, when your body is already reacting to allergens, it鈥檚 especially important to keep your immunity up. 鈥淲e generally recommend your ability to fight illness or other types of infections, viral or other, by eating properly, staying well hydrated, sleeping a good amount each day. These steps can help control your inflammatory process,鈥� says Lane.

A Second Thought

听Then again, what if your allergic symptoms ?

Several of the same types of symptoms could potentially signal that you鈥檙e actually . This spring, a generated the same kind of issues: runny nose, sneezing, cough鈥攕o if the symptoms you鈥檙e experiencing don鈥檛 align fully with those of allergies, you might want to take a COVID test. Red, watery, itchy eyes can differentiate whether what you have is allergies rather than COVID, and if you鈥檝e got a fever, that factor may also indicate more than simply an allergic reaction.

鈥淐OVID confuses things,鈥� Lane says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easier to write it off as allergies when that鈥檚 part of your normal annual thing every April and May.鈥�

To rule out COVID and be safest, Lane says, you can always get tested.

Note: While the University discontinued on-campus as of May 23 for the summer, faculty and staff are now encouraged to seek testing from their doctor鈥檚 office or another community provider.听And as a reminder, tips on COVID , and are available.