If your allergies feel worse than ever, you’re not imagining it. “Seasonal allergies have intensified, partly because climate change is making pollen seasons longer and more intense,” Dr. Abie H. Mendelsohn, M.D., F.A.C.S., of the Los Angeles Center for Ear, Nose, Throat and Allergy, explains. “People with the traditional hay fever-type allergy symptoms are now [being affected by] symptoms for more weeks of the year than the decades before.”
However, you don’t have to tolerate allergies in silence. If you’re looking for ways to find allergy relief at home and antihistamines aren’t cutting it for you, you can try natural remedies and lifestyle changes. From using an air purifier to nasal saline rinses and artificial tears, these are some ways experts recommend you soothe your allergies at home.
1. Use an air purifier
“Installing air purifiers or in-home air filters helps to reduce allergens in your indoor spaces,” says Bria Collins, Au.D, CCC-A, audiologist and associate director of audiology practices at the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA).
Dr. Gene Brown of Charleston ENT Association LLC, the president-elect of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, agrees, stating, “High-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifiers can reduce airborne allergens such as pollen, pet
dander and dust.” He adds that HEPA purifiers can be especially beneficial in high-traffic areas around the home, like bedrooms.
Dr. Pamela Georgeson of the Kenwood Allergy and Asthma Center also advises that you add HEPA filters to your HVAC systems to further reduce airborne allergens.
2. Avoid triggers
If allergies have got you down, it’s important to figure out what is triggering your allergies in the first place. Then, avoid those triggers. “Allergy testing is essential for identifying individual allergy triggers,” says Brown. “Minimizing exposure to these allergens is a foundational step in managing allergies.”
