Do you have a stuffy nose, head pressure, sneezing, itchy watery eyes, cough, scratchy throat every spring or fall? If so you probably have seasonal allergies. These are typically caused by pollen from blooming trees, grasses or weeds. When the weather is particularly humid or damp then mold spores are frequent cause of allergy symptoms. Most people will develop seasonal allergies in childhood or as young adults, however, moving to a a new area of the country is a frequent cause of allergies. Especially if one were to move from an area with low allergies (such as high plains) to the southeast (Tennessee!!!). You can find out what the pollen count for your area is here. If you live in Nashville, the Vanderbilt Allergy Program calculates a Pollen Index for us.
Just because you have allergies in the spring does not mean you will have allergies in the summer or pollen. Trees blooming are typical causes in spring, grass in summer and weeds and crops in the fall.
Normally people breathe in allergens without a problem. However, those that suffer from allergies have an overactive immune system that perceive these pollen’s as harmful and mount an immune response to “protect” the body. The mucous membranes are exposed areas (eyes, nose, mouth, throat, bronchial tubes and swallowing tube (esophagus) that are particularly sensitive to these agents. The skin is a relatively impermeable barrier that protects the body from harm. God set up these exposed areas with an awesome immune response to protect us from getting infected by viruses and bacteria, by protecting these areas with an awesome immune system (picture the Marines, waiting for a virus to land on your mucous membranes). For whatever reason over the past 50 years our bodies have lost the ability to tell what is a true pathogen that could harm us versus some dust! Many people think that it is because we have become more urbanized, have air conditioning with air filters and spend little time outdoors. Because of this lack of exposure to the outdoors our immune systems have not been trained to discern the good from the bad.
What are the symptoms of allergies?
- Stuffy nose, runny nose, or sneezing a lot
- Itchy or red eyes
- Sore throat, or itching of the throat or ears
- Waking up at night or trouble sleeping, which can lead to feeling tired during the day
So if we have to live with these symptoms, how can one minimize symptoms? Prevention is best. As mentioned above seasonal allergies are caused by allergens (dust/pollen) settling on mucous membranes and it the body’s response to those allergen that cause symptoms, therefore if there is no dust or pollen on our mucous membranes then there are no allergies. No you don’t have to live in a plastic bubble, but there are some basic things you can do to prevent symptoms:
- Stay inside on days when pollen counts are high
- Keep care and house windows closed and use air conditioner
- If you are outside especially when mowing or gardening etc… wear a dust mask
- Take a shower before be to rinse pollen out of hair and off skin
THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE THING YOU CAN DO PREVENT SYMPTOMS: Rinse your nose
I am HUGE proponent of nasal and sinus rinsing to prevent symptoms. Think about it, how do most allergens get into our systems? It is through breathing, we breathe 16-18 times per minute, normal breathing occurs via the nose, the nose is designed with hairs and bumps (called turbinates) to filter the air of dust and pollen and warm it before getting to the lungs, therefore if we keep our nose clean then we clear the bulk of allergens from our body and there is nothing for the body to react against. There are many methods to accomplish this, I prefer using a isotonic saline rinse.
Many have heard or used the Neti pot in the past, I don’t like it because you have to contort your head into awkward positions for it to be effective and it is messy.
The nasal saline sprays simply don’t have enough volume to remove the dust and pollen from our noses. Although after the nose is cleaned by rinsing it can be a very useful moisturizer.
Steps for nasal rinsing. Please read Warning before using.
Step 1. Please wash your hands. Fill the clean bottle with the designated volume of lukewarm distilled, filtered or previously boiled water. You may warm the water in a microwave in increments of 5 to 10 seconds to avoid overheating the water, damaging the device or scalding your nasal passage.
Step 2. Cut the SINUS RINSE™ mixture packet at the corner and pour its contents into he bottle. Tighten the cap and tube on the bottle securely. Place one finger over the tip of the cap and shake the bottle gently to dissolve the mixture
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Step 3. Standing in front of a sink, bend forward to your comfort level and tilt your head down. Keeping your mouth open, without holding your breath, place the cap snugly against your nasal passage. SQUEEZE BOTTLE GENTLY until the solution starts draining from the OPPOSITE nasal passage. Some may drain from your mouth. For a proper rinse, keep squeezing the bottle GENTLY until at least 1/2 of the bottle is used. Do not swallow the solution.
Step 4 Blow your nose very gently, without pinching nose completely to avoid pressure on eardrums. If tolerable, sniff in gently any residual solution remaining in the nasal passage once or twice, because this may clean out the posterior nasopharyngeal area, which is the area at the back of your nasal passage. At times, some solution will reach the back of your throat, so please spit it out. To help drain any residual solution, blow your nose gently while tilting your head forward and to the opposite side of the nasal passage you just rinsed.
Step 5. Now repeat steps 3 and 4 for your other nasal passage.
Step 6 Clean the bottle and cap (see directions below). Air dry the SINUS RINSE™ bottle, cap, and tube on a clean paper towel
Here is a link to a instructional video
These kits can be purchased at most pharmacies or big box stores like Wal-mart, Kmart etc. Make sure you get the BLUE packets, the green ones are too strong for most people.
Praise God for these marvelous bodies HE designed for us, when we do not abuse them and do our preventive maintenance (just like with a car) they will last us a lifetime! 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Stay tuned for part 2 where we cover anti-histamines, nasal steroids and other drugs for additional control of symptoms.
