Make allergy season a little less miserable for everyone

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When I was a child, I would rasp my tongue up against the back of my throat so often that I would give myself a sore throat because it was so much better than the fierce itch caused by my allergies. I would try drinking fizzy soda and holding that soda inside my mouth, desperately trying to let the bubbles “scratch” my itch. I’d rub, and rub, and rub my eyes, turning them into red slits. I blew my nose so much my nose was rubbed raw. I was just miserable with allergies. I never really liked Spring because I couldn’t enjoy it.

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Fast forward some decades and I wish I could go back and tell myself what I have since learned to combat allergies. I’m sharing this with you now because if you have allergies, or your children have allergies, or you work with kids, please know that allergy season doesn’t have to be miserable. If the kids you interact with are suddenly cranky and tired when they weren't in the past, it might just be allergies.

Allergy season started late in Utah County this year because of a very wet spring so it’s at its worst right now. If you are, say, a children’s chorister, and you have children with red and/or watering eyes, sneezing, or drowsiness, give them a break, and look to see if you can help them. Here’s what I’ve learned to make this seasonal onslaught a little smoother:

Wet Washcloth for Eyes

I mention this first, not because it’s the best option, but because it’s the one that even a teacher can offer a student. Send the child to the bathroom to get a wet paper towel to put on their eyes. If you have ice, let them even put ice (in a cloth) against their eyes. The cold, wet cloth does two things a) helps removes traces of pollen from around the face where it may be causing symptoms and b) can soothe inflamed, itchy eyes.

Wear Sunglasses/Glasses When Outside
Doctors advise allergy sufferers to stay indoors, but really, how realistic is that, especially for kids that are just out of school and want to enjoy the beautiful sunshine? I’ve learned that one effective trick is to wear sunglasses. During the evening, because I don’t wear or need glasses, I have sunglasses with a clear lens. This has made the biggest difference of anything I know for being outdoors during allergy season, including any medicine.

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I figured this out one day at Thanksgiving Point Gardens, which is a gorgeous, but deceptive landmine for allergy sufferers. It is acres and acres of gorgeous plants, the fields of flowers so vast that if you have allergies, you are guaranteed to be allergic to something. I love this place but I’m so allergic to it. I had my eye drops, which work pretty well (more on that later), but took my sunglasses off during lunch outside. My eyes immediately began to itch. I tried more drops, and to my surprise, they didn’t help at all. Thirty minutes later, I put my sunglasses back on, and suddenly, the itchy eyes began to calm down and feel a little better. I have repeated this test while mowing the lawn and if I keep my sunglasses on, I don’t sneeze a hundred times while mowing. If I remove them, I’ll sneeze pretty much non-stop, and have to stop mowing to go blow my nose. It’s ridiculous. I have repeated this test while riding my bike (I mountain bike weekly nearly all year round) with and without sunglasses. Each time, wearing sunglasses or clear lens glasses before the allergies hit made me feel normal or close to it, while within minutes of removing my glasses, I was a miserable, itchy, wreck.

It took me a looooong time to figure out that sunglasses were very effective despite the obvious openings on the sides of glasses. When I combine sunglasses with eye drops, I can usually survive a bad allergy day.

Arm Your Family with the Right Medicine

I take Flonase, a nasal spray with a lovely scent, when my allergies are particularly bad but typically, Iike to use medicine to treat the symptom rather than as a preventative measure. I honestly can’t tell how much the Flonase is helping but I like the way it smells so I’ll use it during the height of the allergy season.

What really helps me is my eye drops. Years ago, a doctor gave me a sample of six different brands of prescription eye drops to try out. I had one that was my clear favorite, and one that I liked quite a bit. The first was Optivar, and that is still available in prescription. With my insurance, it’s about $20. Costco sells it for $15 if you don’t have insurance (at least, as of today). The eye drops leave a bitter aftertaste in my mouth but I have never minded the brief bitterness. The drops also sting for a second right when they go in, at least for me, but I have always loved this because it almost feels like the sting is scratching the itch.

My second favorite eye drop is Zaditor, which used to be a prescription eye drop but, like Flonase, became available over the counter sometime in the last five years. I keep Zaditor in my purse. I keep a bottle of it in my hiking bag, my cycling bag, the upstairs cupboard, the downstairs cupboard, etc. I am rarely more than five feet away from this little miracle bottle.

Both eye drops can make the itchiness go away within minutes.

I’ve done extensive reading on this, and there are other types of eye drops and medicines so obviously, consult your doctor, but when it comes to allergy medicine, these are the ones that make a difference for me. Be careful if you buy over-the-counter eye drops that you don’t buy cosmetic eye drops for red eyes. You want something that are going to at minimum fight off histamines. For me, that’s Zaditor and Optivar.

Shower

If my allergies are bad, e.g., after two hours of vigorous gardening or trail bushwhacking, I get in the shower before I try to any other treatments. The last thing you want to do, for instance, is send your allergy-suffering child to bed to rub all that pollen around on their bed so they can keep sneezing and being miserable. If my allergies are really bad, a shower isn’t going to fix the problem but it alleviates it. If the allergies are bad, I take a shower, then put in the eye drops, then stay indoors for the rest of the evening. It works like a charm every time.

Plan Your Trips Wisely

On mountain biking trips to Moab, we used to stay at Slickrock Campground. This campground has a ton of cottonwood trees. After my husband observed that every time I went outside, I started sneezing, we switched to a different campground (Moab Valley). Problem solved. If you are doing an activity outdoors with children, pay attention to what is in that area. Are they allergic to grass? Then avoid sitting directly on the grass (I am begging you - I am not allergic to grass if I’m just standing there, but sitting on it, with my face two feet away from it, I will likely go into a sneezing fit. Save your allergic child that misery. It’s really miserable.)

Soft Tissues

My nose was a faucet during allergy season, so much so that the sides of my nostril darkened for the whole season, from rubbing the nose raw. I wish I had known about extra soft tissues. Please invest in those, even if you only pull them out during the height of allergy season. I prefer Kleenex Soothing Lotion. I only use these during allergy season or if I have a cold.

Local Honey and other Natural Foods

This is an interesting one, and something new that I am trying so it’s hard to say yet if it works. I started buying local honey from a guy whose hive is only a couple of miles away from my house. I try to start getting some of this honey into my food a couple of months before allergy season begins. (I know doctors don’t recommend honey for children under one year of age so obviously, this is not advice for little children.) The theory is that repeated exposure to small amounts of allergens can help reduce allergic reaction to those allergens. That’s why the honey has to be local - I want stuff that I’m allergic to in the honey, and so far, I have not had a bad reaction to honey. Second, some say that honey is a cough suppressant (one of my more severe allergy symptoms) and may have anti-inflammatory effects. I’ve also added some “fun” goodies to my regular intake, like Zarbee Elderberry Immune Support gummies. Frankly, they taste like candy and are just plain yummy but also, they have stuff in them like Zinc and Vitamin C that may help my body fight allergies so I figure it’s worth a shot.

I’d love to hear if you have learned other tricks for fighting allergies. These are the things that I have personally tried and believe work for me. I am always eager to share these learnings when I see a friend or child suffering because allergy season doesn’t have to be a miserable experience. I love being outside, in the mountains, and in my garden, and I have been able to do this after experimenting for years and figuring out how to avoid and fight allergens.