Digging in and coaxing new life from the earth is one of spring’s most satisfying activities for any garden lover. My love for digging in the dirt and nurturing plants is inherited from my grandmother. Unfortunately, my allergies are also likely hereditary (source)! If you suffer from allergies, the most satisfactory bliss of morning gardening can turn into sniffling, itchy, watery-eyed torment by the afternoon. When you are stumbling around stuffed up and irritated, everything from tending to your chicken coop to watching your favorite television program becomes a challenging chore.
Gardening-related allergy symptoms may prevent you from enjoying impromptu fun or seizing more enjoyment from the day, ultimately leaving you resentful of your little green sprouts. I know I don’t want to have to choose between cultivating delicious ripe Romas and tomatillos in the morning or spending an exciting afternoon on the lake. I want to have the best of both worlds!
In order to do so, I had to embark on an excavation journey to unearth the secrets of surviving garden season allergies. It’s a daunting task, but in order to save my green thumb and experience all of life’s joys, I had to take on this harrowing research…
Turns out, this is a predicament an estimated 1 in 5 Americans, including myself, face each year with outdoor and indoor spring allergies. When the breeze is blowing and pollen runs rampant, there’s really no escaping the sting of allergies, but thankfully, you can find some relief. Simple, quick solutions for lessening garden season allergies exist -Eureka!- and I didn’t have to travel to Cairo to find them.
A little reading and a trip to my local drugstore chain for a little OTC help revealed all:
8 Secret Steps to Surviving Garden Season Allergies
Remember to dust off outdoor clothing.
After your morning gardening excursion, brush your clothing off before you step inside to remove as many dirt and pollen particles as possible. For best results, shed your clothing and place directly in the washing machine. It’s also a good idea to keep up with washing your linens regularly including your curtains to remove trapped particles.
After gardening, rinse used tools.
When you are done digging and raking, rinse off your tools to remove dirt and debris. This not only helps preserve your gardening tools but removes allergens, vital if you are storing your gardening tools close to or in your home. Also rinse off the most important garden tool: Y-O-U! Taking a shower after gardening will help to wash away allergens that may potentially bother you later on. At the very least, wash your hands and face off after gardening.
Help keep the floors clean at home.
Dust and vacuum floors and furniture regularly, especially if you like to keep your windows open during the day or at night. Pollen and other allergens will adhere themselves to any surface, but particularly love to accumulate on material-covered furniture and carpets.
Cover your furniture.
If you want to take things a step further, purchase dust covers and allergy-proof cases for couches, chairs, mattresses and other areas you generally spend a lot of time relaxing. This will help ward off indoor and outdoor allergens.
Use an air filter.
You want to keep cool in your encampment, but central air simply circulates allergens throughout your home. Consider investing in a quality air filter to help catch and filter allergens and be sure to replace them regularly on schedule.
Keep track of pollen count.
Get to know your local weather and pollen counts. Excessive rain can increase mold spores and dry stretches may increase dust. Pollen counts are known to be highest in the morning, so you may want to consider changing up your gardening routine a bit to garden in the late afternoon instead to avoid the prime time.
Use protection from outdoor elements.
Gardening gloves, sunglasses, and hats are all helpful for protecting you from outdoor elements including allergens. If your allergies are fierce, consider wearing a dust mask when gardening, too.
Find Support.
Even when you know all the secrets and employ each one, at the end of your gardening day, you may still find yourself with a stuffy, drippy nose and itchy, watery eyes that keep you from having a joy-filled day. This is when you need to rally your team and call in the top workers like prescription or over-the-counter allergy relievers. Of course, work with your doctor to find the best options for you.
Getting my allergy symptoms under control means I can garden to my heart’s content and still seize the day! With my allergy symptoms alleviated, an afternoon of fun at the lake is something I’m fully ready to embrace.
Do allergies interfere with your gardening enjoyment? What tips and tricks have you found useful in helping you to combat seasonal allergies?
Great, great tips! We live in Georgia, so there’s no shortage of allergens. We give our dogs weekly baths and always make sure our floors are in order.
What great tips. I never had allergies until we moved to Texas and now they are horrible. I could not survive without Flonase. LOL…
Summer allergies absolutely kill me, so I’m always dusting and vacuuming. These are great tips to keep allergens to a minimum.
We are fortunate not to have allergies al that bad here. My brother has major problems with them. I wonder if he does all this to keep his allergies at bay. I will have to tell him about this post.
These are really great tips! I do have horrible horrible allergies and a garden. Many of my problems are from plants in the yard but they don’t bloom year round and when they do they are gorgeous!! I need to find Flonase. Thanks for the coupon!
Oy vey, my allergies have been SO bad this year. It’s the worst it’s been in years.
Allergy season started very early in South Dakota. My daughter’s allergist has had her on Flonase for a couple of years now and she really sees a difference. We also keep on hand some antihistamine eye drops.
Man, I feel awful for people who struggle with allergies. My father is one of them,and he uses Flonase. Sometimes, when allergies flare up it looks worse than the common flu!
Live in AZ. I didn’t have allergy until the 90s when it start to build up. Not the are terrible.
Yes! I have trouble with outdoor pollen and have to limit my exposure to the outdoors or take medication. We take our shoes off at the door, keep the windows closed, and take a shower after being outside so I do not bring a lot of the pollen indoors. It seems to help.
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I am lucky that I don’t get any allergies.
My allergies have really bothered me this year. I am trying to limit my time outdoors and taking allergy medicine.
I am allergic to pollen and take allergy medication to combat seasonal allergies.
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I make sure to wash my hands and face each time I come in from working in the garden. Helps me to not rub pollen into my nose or eyes.
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This past weekend, my husband and I discovered that we have extreme allergies. Runny noses, itchy eyes-I really need to pick up some Flonase!
I really suffer with my allergies this time of year. I will have to give flonase a try!
My husband and son have such bad allergies. I would never have thought to shake off my coat before entering the house. That is a great tip! Thank you!!!
These are some great tips. I don’t have any allergies luckily. I know many that do though and it’s hard to control at times. I think seasonal allergies are some of the worst too.
I do not have a garden, but allergies are in full swing in my house. Flonase has been a real help this year!
I don’t have allergies.
Spring is so beautiful – except for my allergies. I spent hours scrubbing pollen off of our deck because it is irritating me so badly. Flonase makes things so much more tolerable.
I love a great spring day but the sniffles and itchy eyes I could live without. Flonase does a great job at keeping the allergies in check.
luckily I have zero allergies so that’s nice!
groogruxking40 @ gmail dot com
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I’ve been an allergy sufferer my whole adult life but I love to garden. In fact, my allergist prescribed Flonase for me and it really help me get out and dig in the dirt with gusto.
Allergies are so bad this time of the year. I will have to get some Flonase to try for this season.
Flonase is great for allergies. I used it last year and it made a huge difference for me.
These are great tips. I use some of them myself! I need to try an air filter!
Although I do not have a garden, I do have allergies! I try to keep indoors during peak pollen times and I keep my windows shut!
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I suffer from year-long allergies and Flonase daily saves my life!
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We are working on our garden a lot lately. I check the local pollen counts and I will take allergy medicine and avoid going out in the early morning hours.
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I dont really garden, but I still have allergies. I honestly take my Flonase spray everyday and that helps… I havent really looked into what else to do
I don’t really garden. A good tip for fighting allergies is to do a top-to-bottom inventory of your house to determine where allergens are congregating (bedding, carpet, damp areas, and air filters are likely spots) and clean them up.
These are good tips to help people get through allergy season as safely and with as little misery as is possible.
In the Spring, allergies effect me whenever I plan on spending time outdoors. Besides taking meds, I also find that by getting out of my clothes and taking a shower as soon as I come in helps me.
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I have allergies the one thing I use is Flonase.
I have problems in the spring with pine tree pollen. I use nasal sprays to help with it.
My allergies were severe this spring, so I switched up my normal allergy medicine because it can lose it’s potency when taken often and I used saline spray on my nose more often. It really helped me stop sneezing so much. Flonase is a really good product!
I don’t have allergies, but my husband does. He uses a cold can of coke on his eyes when they get itchy.