Are You Suffering?

Every year, at about this time, my sleep starts to suffer. I find that as soon as I lay down my throat hurts and by time I am in a deep sleep I am woken up from the pain of swallowing. For as many as one in five Americans, allergies affect their life in some way. Allergic reactions range from a nuisance to life-threatening - and some people are lucky enough not to suffer at all. The most common type of allergies occurs this time of year.

An allergic reaction begins when your body's immune system begins to protect itself from something it believes to be harmful. Hay fever, which is common during the spring, is caused by pollen from trees, grass, and weeds. It generally affects people in late April through May. For an unlucky few, hay fever lasts year round.

If you have springtime allergies, you might find yourself sneezing and/or having a runny nose and congestion, or like me, a sore throat. The worst symptoms come on windy days, when pollen from the trees gets blown around.

If allergies are affecting your health, try one of these tips to help reduce them:

• Stay indoors on dry, windy days. The best time to go outside is after a good rain, which helps clear the pollen in the air
• Avoid lawn mowing, weed pulling, and other gardening chores that stir up allergens
• Remove clothes you have worn outside
• Do not hang laundry outside
• If your allergies are really bad, and you must be outside, wear a dust mask
• Dust and vacuum as often as possible, to remove pollen from your home

Decongestants can help clear up stuffy noses. They are best used for only a short time, since they can have a rebound effect, making you stuffier than you were before.

Because finding an allergy medication that works for you is trial and error, it is a good idea to talk with your doctor to determine the best option for you. And hopefully, in just a few more weeks, your allergies will be a distant memory.

03 Dec 2008 21:54:52

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Source: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/03/~.html

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