You and your family suffer seasonal allergies every year. But you don’t want to resort to taking lots of medications to sort out your allergy symptoms. Instead, focusing on your interior environment and the quality of your indoor air will help you eliminate allergy sources that get tracked into the house. Then, you and your family won’t be breathing in your allergens even when you’re not outdoors, helping alleviate your symptoms.
Keep the Outdoors Out
Pollen clings to coats, pants, and shoes when you’re outdoors. Designate a place to remove these objects just inside the front or back door. A mud room or a corner of the garage is perfect. Stop hanging laundry outdoors during your allergy season. Resist the temptation to open the windows and catch the first few breaths of fresh, spring air. Keep that pollen outside where it belongs.
Use Probiotics
Probiotics like acidophilus give your gut bacteria a boost. Your gut bacteria is an essential component of your immune system, and allergies are essentially your immune system fighting against foreign objects. Some studies suggest that taking probiotics will help prevent your immune system’s response to your seasonal allergies. You may have to experiment with the live probiotic strains you take before finding the result that works best for you.
Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies
Pollen, mold, and mildew aren’t the only allergy-causing culprits. The chemicals in many household cleaners cause allergic reactions and health issues. You have two choices: do research and read ingredient labels before purchasing cleaners, or make your own. When you make your own, you have total control over what goes in them. Many recipes are simple and involve hot water, baking soda, vinegar, and other natural ingredients you probably have in your pantry.
Deep Clean Your House
Now that you have non-toxic cleaning products at your disposal, it’s time to deep clean your house. Along with vacuuming and dusting, pay attention to the areas that rarely get clean. Deep clean your blinds, the blades of your ceiling fans, and your HVAC system. Baseboards, table legs, and door knobs also end up forgotten much of the time.
Wash Your Bedding Often
Image via Flickr by LilyRose97
Allergens cling to your bedding, get inside your pillows, and infiltrate your mattress. Then you spend eight hours a night breathing in the very particulates that are causing your symptoms. First, invest in natural mattress and pillow covers that you use beneath your regular sheets. Once a week, strip your bed of these covers and wash them in hot water to kill off any allergens that have been trapped within them. This way, you won’t be breathing in dust mites and pollen as you sleep.
Dealing with allergies can be tough, and you may have to try different natural solutions before you find the combination that alleviates your family’s allergy symptoms. Focus on providing your family with a clean indoor space free of the pollen and debris that causes so many problems outside so that you can all breathe clean air.
