With spring comes the beauty of flowers… and allergies! Allergies occur when your immune system overreacts to a specific allergen. Some allergens that tend to affect many individuals are pollen, dust, grass, and oak. Symptoms of these allergies consist of itchy, watery eyes, running nose, sneezing and sometimes a cough. Despite how bad the pollen count might be, these allergies should not deter you from getting a workout in. Below are some tips that should help you to get over that allergy slump.
Check the Pollen Count: Before you head outdoors make sure you double check the pollen count for the day; you can look this up on pollen.com. In general the pollen count is typically higher in the morning during warm, breezy days and is lower on cold, rainy days. It is important to also look at ozone levels and other pollutants because these tend to bother individuals who have allergies. If the pollen count is too high, exercising indoors is also a good solution.
Choose the Time of Day: As a rule of thumb, pollen tends to be higher in the morning and afternoon so exercising at night time is ideal if you suffer from allergies.
Change Your Clothes: If you do decide to exercise outside make sure you come home and change your clothes. Pollen is likely to stick to people’s clothes and hair so when you come home it is advised that you take a shower and change to rid yourself of any possible allergens left on your skin after your workout. This also might help protect your family members who suffer from allergies.
Ask your Doctor: If your allergies continue to persist make an appointment with your doctor, you might need an antihistamine to help you get through the day. If you are going outside to exercise it is advised that you take the medication an hour before working out so your body has enough time to react to it.
Exercising Indoors: Sometimes the pollen content is just too high and you need to exercise inside. If you are going to do this make sure that all windows and doors are closed so extra pollen or any other allergen is not able to sneak in during your workout.
Avoid Certain Areas: When exercising outdoors it is important to stay away from areas where there is a high possibility of irritants, pollutants or allergens. Certain areas to stay away from consist of fields, trees, factories and cities.
Breathe Through Your Nose: When working out it is important to breath through your nose and not your mouth. Your nose works as a filtration system that filters out any pollutants, allergens or irritants that can enter into your body.
Don’t let this time of the year prevent you from completing your workout, summer is just around the corner!
