How to Survive Allergy Season - Legacy ER

According to medical experts, this year has been particularly bad for seasonal allergies. And depending on where you live or travel — and what you’re allergic to — you could experience these symptoms over the course of several months. Seasonal allergies aren’t life-threatening, which means you can go to an urgent care center (like 27% of U.S. patients did between 2014 and 2016) for fast, convenient care if you’re seeking allergy relief. But you also might want to try these tips to reduce your itchy eyes, sore throats, headaches, and other symptoms throughout this season.

• Be selective about outside time: It’d be a bummer if you had to stay indoors for the entire summer due to allergies. Fortunately, you probably don’t need to. You’ll just need to be careful about when you step outside. Dry, windy days are by far the worst for allergy sufferers, as pollen and allergens get blown around. The best time to go out? Right after it rains, since the precipitation helps to clear the air. You may also want to pay closer attention to the daily pollen count to plan your daily activities around that.
• Clean your home’s air: You might assume that the threat remains outside your doors, but pollen can still find its way inside. It can come inside on you, so be sure to remove garments to be laundered and take a shower to remove pollen after spending time outside. Don’t forget to remove your shoes! You should also opt for AC when you can, rather than opening all of the windows. And make sure to clean your HVAC filters regularly, too.
• Seek out convenient care: During particularly bad times in the allergy season, your go-to medications may not work as effectively. You may want to consider supplementing with over-the-counter antihistamines, decongestants, or nasal sprays. But you also might want to opt for fast medical treatment at your local urgent care center. It’s possible that you may need to switch or combine medications — or consider that your symptoms may actually not be indicative of allergies at all! Sometimes, the bad bout of allergies we think we’re experiencing can actually be caused by other illnesses. It’s best to find out for sure before making a change.

Whether you experience allergy symptoms in the spring, summer, or fall (or all three), you can count on receiving fast medical treatment for what ails you at your local walk-in clinic.