Those who experience hay fever often find that they experience the most severe symptoms during the spring and fall seasons. This is largely due to the various allergens that pollute the outdoor air during these seasons. Understanding the differences between allergies in the spring and the fall can help you to avoid these triggers and minimize your discomfort throughout these months. Here are a few things that you need to know about the differences between spring and fall allergies.
Worst Allergy Seasons
Allergies tend to be most severe during both the spring and fall. Each allergy season tends to result in similar symptoms, but they occur in response to different triggers. Understanding the various triggers is generally the ideal way to aid in avoiding triggers and ensuring that you remain as comfortable as possible throughout the spring and fall months. Preparation is often key in reducing your allergies throughout allergy season and protecting your health. In most situations, it is recommended that you have specific cleaning procedures done in both the spring and the fall to minimize potential allergens inside of your home.
Causes of Spring Allergies
The causes of spring allergies fluctuate depending on the time during the season. In the early months of spring, the allergies are caused primarily by tree pollen. Common trees that produce pollen into the air are walnut, sycamore, birch, cedar, cottonwood, maple, oak, hickory, and pine trees. In the later portion of spring, it is more likely that grass is the cause of the pollen circulating through the air. Grasses that tend to spread pollen throughout the air include Bermuda, bluegrass, redtop, Kentucky, rye, orchard, sweet vernal, and timothy variations of grass.
Causes of Fall Allergies
The causes of fall allergies tend to differ substantially from the ones in spring. While spring allergies tend to result from post-winter growth from trees and grass, fall allergies tend to be as a result of various weed pollen circulating through the air. Ragweed is often the most common culprit of weed pollen in the fall. Another important consideration during the fall is that the weather tends to be more warm and rainy than in the spring. This creates the ideal environment in which mold can grow, which means that there are likely more mold spores circulating through the air that you breathe in the fall, which can similarly result in allergic reactions.
Symptoms of Spring and Fall Allergies
Even though spring and fall allergies tend to result from different triggers, they still tend to have the same symptoms. This is because the symptoms are caused by an allergic reaction to a particular allergen. Understanding the symptoms of spring and fall allergies can help you to identify when they are present. If you don’t know what the symptoms of allergies are, it is likely that you will not even know that you are experiencing allergies! Common symptoms of both spring and fall allergies include a runny nose, watery or itchy eyes, sneezing, headaches, asthma symptoms, and sinus pain or pressure. If these symptoms are present, particularly in spring or fall, it is likely that you have allergies.
Tips for Combatting Seasonal Allergies
It is important to take the steps to reduce the ability of allergens from entering into your home. This can go a long way toward minimizing allergy symptoms. During allergy season, you will want to regularly check the pollen levels outside. When these levels are abnormally high, you will want to stay indoors as much as possible to reduce your exposure. You should also encourage everyone to remove their shoes when they enter the building. When they wear their shoes inside, they can potentially track pollen into the house. You should also leave your windows closed as much as possible throughout allergy season to prevent pollen from entering into your home.
How to Combat Indoor Allergies
Though it is particularly beneficial to prevent allergens from entering your home, there are likely many allergens that are already present inside of your building. The right steps can go a long way toward combatting these allergens and reducing your allergic symptoms. Ensure that you wash your bed linens on a regular basis to remove dust mites and other allergens from your bedding. You should also ensure that you change the air filters within your building on a regular basis. Your air filters are designed in order to filter harmful particles out of the air inside of your building. They can clog up over time, which causes them to function ineffectively.
Try to keep your house cool and dry to minimize the likelihood of mold growing inside of the building. Vacuum frequently and clean or replace moldy shower curtains. Regular professional cleanings can also help to remove allergens from your building. For example, having your air ducts cleaned by a professional cleaning service can remove dust, mold, and other allergens from the air that you breathe inside of the building.
Reducing Allergy Symptoms
There are other methods that you can use to somewhat relieve your allergy symptoms. Many people find relief from their allergies due to taking over the counter medicines, such as Claritin. Certain shots have been designed in order to reduce the severity of allergic reactions. Consulting with a specialist can go a long way toward helping you to devise the best plan to deal with your allergies in both the spring and fall months.
Here at Fresh Ducts, we are dedicated to providing you with the services that you need to remove allergens from within your home. This will go a long way toward reducing your symptoms and ensuring that you can remain comfortable and healthy inside of your building. Regular cleaning services can help to detect substantial issues in the early stages, which helps to ensure that your air duct system continues to stay in the best possible condition. To learn more about the benefits of having your air ducts clean, as well as obtain more tips regarding how to handle allergies during the spring and fall, contact our experts at Fresh Ducts today!
