How to Survive Ragweed Season
You may have read our recent blog entitled “Tips for Dealing With Pollen Problems” If you have allergies, we hope the blog helped you and that you’ll also appreciate this blog on ragweed-specific considerations you should make now that ragweed is blooming around our area.
When people say they are allergic to ragweed, what they actually mean in most cases is that they are allergic to the tremendous levels of late summer and early fall pollen produced by the plant. According to WebMD.com, “a single ragweed plant can release one billion grains of pollen over the course of a single ragweed season,” so ragweed pollen is certainly not easy to avoid, but there are a few things you can try.
The most secure place away from ragweed pollen is of course inside. Peak ragweed hours are between 10am and 4pm, so avoid outdoor exposure if at all possible. You should also be wary of dragging the pollen into your car and home, so changing and washing your clothing often for the next couple of months will help reduce the spread of pollen indoors.
Your air conditioner and vents should act to filter out allergens like ragweed pollen, but if they’re clogged, no such filtering will occur. That’s why enlisting the help of air duct cleaners once a year helps people with allergies greatly. You can also ask us about HEPA air filters for each room of the house, and we’d be happy to recommend a HEPA vacuum cleaner!
For the allergies themselves, experts say that medications like Allegra, Claritin and Zyrtec work best when taken on a daily basis for about 2 weeks before the allergens hit the air. While this pre-regimen isn’t possible right now since ragweed season has already started, you can expect even more relief from your allergy meds once you’ve undergone a daily regimen for a couple weeks!
Because ragweed season lasts until the beginning of October in our area, allergy sufferers are unfortunately in it for the long haul. The worst case scenario is that you’re still left suffering from ragweed pollen after the season is done because it’s infiltrated the vents in your home, so don’t be afraid to give us a call at any point during ragweed season to see what’s going on in your vents. Indeed, one of the best parts of our job is providing relief for people living with poor indoor air quality and allergies!