We found this article about 2018 allergy season to be helpful and wanted to share it. Taken from www.popsugar.com.
"Kids Prone to Allergies? Then This Is the Time of Day You Should Not Go Outside"
May 10, 2018
by MURPHY MORONEY
While it's definitely true that April showers bring May flowers, for allergy sufferers they also bring itchy eyes, coughing, and a whole lot of sneezing. And unfortunately for kids with allergies, the 2018 Spring and Summer seasons are going to be especially bad.
Maria Castells, an allergist, and immunologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital told The Boston Globe that fluctuating pollen levels are to blame.
"Allergies are going to be a pretty severe year because there have already been several bursts of pollen out there that have been in between days where the temperature has gone down, so pollen is not being released in the air," she explained. "And there will be very few bursts in the next week or so. There is a lot of pollen from the trees that has not been released and will continue to be in the air."
In addition to taking allergy medicine, Dr. Castells suggests that parents close their kiddos' bedroom windows at night and avoid spending too much time outside first thing in the morning.
"I know that's hard now that we've had a long winter. We'd love to have a little bit of air in the bedrooms, but that's kind of dangerous because all the pollen grains starting at 4 and 5 a.m. start to come inside the bedrooms and start to inflame the nose, the eyes, the throat, and the lungs," she said. "Then when people wake up in the morning they start to cough, they start to feel like they can't really sleep well, sneezing, and not being able to breathe through their noses."
Rather than waiting until the pollen levels completely go through the roof, Castells recommends trying to get ahead of the problem.
"What will be most effective for people with allergies is to try and start treating themselves now, not waiting until the pollen is very high," she said. "When the pollen is very high the medications that can be taken — the antihistamines, the inhalers, the anti-inflammatory medications — actually can try and subdue and control the symptoms. But when the medication is taken beforehand it actually prevents the symptoms. So much milder symptoms occur if people take the medication before the actual pollen season."
