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Springtime Allergies

Many people see the start of spring as a welcome change. But with the warm breeze comes airborne pollen and mold spores. And if you suffer from seasonal allergies, you probably feel them with every inhale. Allergens send the body's immune system into overdrive, leading to allergy symptoms such as sneezing, a stuffy nose, and itching. In the springtime alone, which typically begins in March, hay fever — an allergy to pollen or mold — affects 30 to 60 million people in the United States. Trees cause allergies because they produce small pollen cells that are light and dry, and can be carried far by the spring breeze.
Eleven types of trees are common triggers of hay fever in spring, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology:

• Oak
• Western red cedar
• Sycamore
• Maple
• Elm
• Birch
• Ash
• Cypress
• Walnut
• Hickory
• Poplar

These trees release pollen around the same time every year. If you're allergic to any of them, when their pollen is in the air you'll start sneezing, experience congestion, and feel itchy eyes,  ears, nose, and mouth.

Mold
Mold spores work in a similar way. Mold, such as yeast and mildew, releases seeds called spores that are carried by the wind. They're very abundant in the air outside and tend to cause the worst allergy symptoms from spring through fall.
Outdoor molds include Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Hormodendrun. Mold can also be found inside your home; indoor molds include Aspergillus and Penicillium.
Mold also causes typical allergy symptoms, such as sneezing, congestion, a runny nose, or watery eyes that are itchy.

What you can do for Allergies:

Compliment your regular Allergy Medicine: 
Of course you know I'm going to start with remedies that are herbal.  Consider using herbal alternatives in conjunction with your regular allopathic treatments, especially if you are just beginning on a path to wholeness with healthy alternatives.  If you've been on this path for awhile, then by all means--go all natural.  The following alternative remedies, when paired with your regular antihistamine, may relieve allergy symptoms: • A daily multivitamin and mineral supplement that includes magnesium, selenium, vitamin C, vitamin E, and all the B vitamins. • A cup of peppermint or chamomile tea each night before bed. • Your choice of herbal supplements, dried ivy leaf, or pycnogenol. A number of natural remedies have been used to treat hay fever symptoms. Treatments that may help include extracts of the shrub butterbur and spirulina (a type of dried algae). • A daily dose of echinacea taken two weeks on, two weeks off.

Spring clean your bedroom and closet

Get mold out of your bathroom

Shower and Wash your hair at night

Lose the extra weight

Eat healthy alternatives/Antioxident Rich Foods
 

Rinse your sinuses

Rinsing your nasal passages with saline solution (nasal irrigation) is a quick, inexpensive and effective way to relieve nasal congestion. Rinsing directly flushes out mucus and allergens from your nose.

Look for a squeeze bottle or a neti pot — a small container with a spout designed for nasal rinsing — at your pharmacy or health food store. Use water that's distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered using a filter with an absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller to make up the saline irrigation solution. Also be sure to rinse the irrigation device after each use with similarly distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered water and leave open to air-dry.

Reduce your exposure to allergy triggers

To reduce your exposure to the things that trigger your allergy signs and symptoms (allergens):

• Stay indoors on dry, windy days. The best time to go outside is after a good rain, which helps clear pollen from the air.
• Delegate lawn mowing, weed pulling and other gardening chores that stir up allergens.
• Remove clothes you've worn outside and shower to rinse pollen from your skin and hair.
• Don't hang laundry outside — pollen can stick to sheets and towels.
• Wear a pollen mask if you do outside chores.

Take extra steps when pollen counts are high

Seasonal allergy signs and symptoms can flare up when there's a lot of pollen in the air. These steps can help you reduce your exposure:

• Check your local TV or radio station, your local newspaper, or the Internet for pollen forecasts and current pollen levels.
• If high pollen counts are forecasted, start taking allergy medications before your symptoms start.
• Close doors and windows at night or any other time when pollen counts are high.
• Avoid outdoor activity in the early morning when pollen counts are highest.

Keep indoor air clean

There's no miracle product that can eliminate all allergens from the air in your home, but these suggestions may help:

• Use the air conditioning in your house and car.
• If you have forced air heating or air conditioning in your house, use high-efficiency filters and follow regular maintenance schedules.
• Keep indoor air dry with a dehumidifier.
• Use a portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in your bedroom.
• Clean floors often with a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter.