By Robert Preidt
HealthDay reporter
FRIDAY, March 26, 2021 (HealthDay News) – Here’s a silver lining if you have to put a mask over your face in public: This mask can also help protect against severe spring allergies, an expert says.
Many spring allergy patients are doing well this season because they spend more time indoors and wear a mask when they go outside, said Dr. Do-Yeon Cho, Associate Professor of ENT at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.
“A study published in 2020 showed that allergic rhinitis [hay fever] Symptoms among nurses had been significantly reduced through the use of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, “Cho said in a university press release.
Any type of face covering can greatly reduce the pollen and allergens that can get into the nose and mouth, he noted. However, it is important not to touch the front of your mask when removing it and not to turn the mask over when reusing it.
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In addition to wearing a mask, there are other ways to reduce the symptoms of a spring allergy.
Identify your allergens and limit outdoor activities if you are allergic to spring pollen if you have high pollen counts.
“Most weather reports during the allergy season give a pollen count,” Cho said. “Using high efficiency particulate absorption or HEPA air filters during the allergy season can reduce exposure to allergens.”
Take allergy medications before pollen season starts to prevent your body from releasing histamines and other chemicals that cause allergy symptoms, he recommended.
Bathe and shampoo daily before bed to wash off the pollen.
“Change clothes and wash your nose with saline when you come inside,” suggested Cho. “Wash your linens and clothes in hot, soapy water and dry your clothes in a tumble dryer, not an outside line.”
He stated that once “temperatures get warmer, dormant trees will come back to life and release pollen into the air. Some common culprits are birch, cedar and walnut, and the season could last until mid-May.”
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Spring showers can wash away pollen and keep it from drifting through the air, but the dampness of the rain can cause similar symptoms in people with allergies to dust and mold, Cho said.
More information
The American Academy of Family Physicians is more concerned with allergic rhinitis.
SOURCE: University of Alabama, Birmingham, press release, March 23, 2021
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