If you have pollen allergies and asthma, the spring months can be quite a burden. Allergies can trigger asthma symptoms, causing wheezing, cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath.
Here are five tips to manage your allergies during the spring months and avoid preventable asthma exacerbations.
- Talk to your healthcare provider about your treatment plan. Your asthma medications may need to be adjusted as you and your asthma change, so stay in close touch with your healthcare provider and work with them to identify triggers and ways to prevent symptoms.
- Keep windows closed during pollen season. When the weather gets warm, it’s so tempting to open up the windows and let a breeze roll in. But that spring breeze can also bring pollen exposure, so if your allergies are acting up, keep windows closed to reduce your symptoms.
- Track pollen counts and plan around them. You can use websites like Pollen.com to track pollen counts in your area. If pollen is high, you may want to consider avoiding the outdoors or making sure to bring your rescue medication with you if you have to go outside.
- Shower and wash your hands. If you take part in an activity that exposes you to pollen, like going on a hike or gardening, make sure to shower or wash your hands afterwards.
- Wear a mask. In the era of COVID, no one will look at you twice for wearing a mask outside, and masking up can help to protect your airways when pollen is high. Plus, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask to protect against COVID for the time being, so it’s a win-win situation.
Remember, you can track your triggers with Propeller by going to Timeline, tapping Add Event, and noting what triggered your rescue use. Over time, this will help us identify what triggers your asthma symptoms most often so you can work with your clinician to build a plan to prevent them.