There are several things which can be done to help with seasonal allergy symptoms. Some reduce your symptoms over the long term, others are more temporary, but immediate. Choose the one(s) which work for you and stick with them throughout your whole allergy season. There are no side effects, nor interactions with other drugs you may be taking, so give them a try!
1. Reduce your exposure by avoiding going outside on windy days when pollen counts are very high, if you must then try these steps to help your body deal with the pollen:
Wear a face mask.
Wash your face when you return indoors.
Change your clothes, take a shower, go swimming.
2. Do a nasal rinse, either using a neti pot or a sinus wash squeeze bottle. Follow these simple steps to get the maximum benefit:
Use warm water with a teaspoon of sea salt dissolved in it.
For the neti pot, the position of your head is very crucial in getting the most out of the wash. Move your head around until either the water flows out of the nostril you are not pouring into, or out of your mouth. The goal of the neti pot is to wash out the sinus passages, so getting the water into them ensures this will happen more completely. Sometimes it may even come out of your eyes, and if they have been itching, you will feel immediate relief.
You may do this rinse every day, even twice a day if needed.
3. Avoid dairy products, mostly cow’s milk and cheese. While not all of us are allergic, many of us will see an improvement in allergy response simply by cutting out dairy. Even without an allergy to dairy, you may see some improvement due to the mucus producing attribute of milk.
4. Relax. Tension, emotional distress, and fatigue all contribute to physical stress on the body, and once our bodies become overloaded, that is when the symptoms begin.
5. Reduce your dependence on over-the-counter medications, which only suppress the symptoms, as much as you can. Overuse of these medications adversely affects your overall health while doing nothing to eliminate your allergy symptoms in the future. You may also find that you need more and more of these medications as time goes on.