Keeping Allergens at Bay
If you suffer from seasonal allergies, you know how they can really ruin your spring and early summer. You want to be outside, enjoying the longer days and warming weather, but the pollen emitted from all those beautiful flowerbeds and landscaping just makes you miserable.
A report by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (Link Here) states that nearly 35 million Americans suffer from allergic reactions to airborne allergens that result in upper respiratory conditions and describes pollen allergy, or hay fever, as one of the most common chronic diseases in the country.
“Worldwide, airborne allergens cause the most problems for people with allergies. The respiratory symptoms of asthma, which affect approximately 11 million Americans, are often provoked by airborne allergens,” the report asserts. “Overall, allergic diseases are among the major causes of illness and disability in the United States, affecting as many as 40 to 50 million Americans.”
Not a sunny outlook. But it is possible to manage your seasonal allergies by taking a few simple measures:
- Consult with your doctor. He or she may recommend over-the-counter allergy relief medications and/or refer you to a specialist who will conduct testing and possibly prescribe immunotherapy.
- Before going outdoors, especially if you’ll be stirring up pollen while planting or weeding, get ahead of your symptoms by
- taking an antihistamine at least 30 minutes before venturing out,
- wearing a face mask designed to filter pollen,
- showering as soon as you come indoors, and
- machine washing all clothes that you were wearing. If something can’t be laundered, try to leave it outside in a protected area.
- Replace or minimize interior treatments, such as wall-to-wall carpeting, that collect and stubbornly hold on to tracked-in pollen, pet dander, and dust mites. Consider hard floors with area rugs that can be cleaned from time to time.
- Avoid second-hand cigarette smoke.
- Finally, look into having an air purifying system installed in your home.
Even though houses are becoming more airtight with the use of advanced building products, such as house wraps and insulation, allergens will make it into your home. Unfortunately, that also means those allergens become trapped inside your home, circulating through your heating and cooling system and causing poor indoor air quality. An air purifying system can eliminate allergens and other pollutants and restore clean air and better respiratory health.
Rainaldi Home Services offers a variety of air purifying systems that outperform the best HEPA (high-efficiency particulate arrestance) filters. Moreover, some systems can promise unprecedented filtering of airborne allergens, including pollen, pet dander, and smoke, as small as .30 micron in size. When added to your system, UV germicidal lamps can kill mold, mildew, and bacteria. Most systems can be installed within your existing ductwork or heating and cooling system and feature easily replaced filters.
You don’t have to suffer with poor indoor air quality. Call Rainaldi today to discuss all the options available, and we’ll help you arrive at the best solution for your home.