How to Protect Your Eyes During Allergy Season

Spring is officially here and coming into bloom. The flowers are beautiful, the skies are sunny, and you can smell the promise of nice weather in the air. With all the beauty comes a very common frustration: allergies. Although some areas are more affected than others, allergies can crop up no matter where you live. Some people experience runny noses or excessive sneezing as a result, but others have to endure itchy eyes throughout allergy season. This is a pain, and can be further exacerbated if you wear contacts or have other eye conditions in conjunction with your allergy symptoms. If you want to enjoy the springtime, minus the annoyance and discomfort of allergies, here are a few tips:

Keep an Eye on Pollen Reports

If you’re searching for how to protect your eyes from the aggravations of allergy season, you might want to familiarize yourself with pollen reports. Most people have a habit of checking the weather before they plan to be outside, but many forget that there are forecasts designed especially to alert the public when allergens are at their peak.

Check out a website like Pollen.com to keep your eye on specific allergy information in your particular area. You can dial in to see pollen levels, trends and other aspects of allergy season that could help you make plans accordingly. If you notice that there’s a day where pollen levels are near their peak, it might be a good idea to alter your schedule so you can stay indoors as much as possible. This will help prevent itchy eyes and other discomfort that allergens might generate.

Clear Your Air

Another factor that can impact how allergy season affects your eyes is the quality of your air. Even if you stay inside, there’s a high likelihood that you (or your children or your pets) could bring in pollen, dirt, and other things from outside that can carry allergens. A good rule of thumb for protecting your eyes is to have everyone in your house remove their shoes when they come in, so anything that’s on the bottom of the shoes will be left at the front door (and not get ground into the carpet, further lingering in your home).

Also, take an inventory of your air filters. When was the last time you gave them a change? Even if it was within the past few months, dust and allergens can really do a number on filters. You might think you can wait longer than you really should in between changes. If you want some allergy relief, consider swapping out all your air filters on a regular (and frequent) basis to keep air quality high and allergens low.

Visit Your Eye Doctor

Sometimes even taking the best preventive measures, staying indoors and keeping your air pristine is still not enough to keep itchy eyes at bay. In order to get complete allergy relief, it might be time to pay a visit to your eye doctor. Depending on how your consultation goes, your doctor may prescribe a specific prescription eye drop to give you some relief of your symptoms or they may have some other suggestions for reducing the discomfort that allergy season brings. If you wear contacts, for instance, your doctor may suggest you wear glasses for awhile in order to diminish the additional aggravation on your eyes.

Whatever the solution is, your doctor will know better than anyone how to move on from the downsides of allergy season and begin enjoying the springtime season once again. If you have any questions or would like to schedule an eye exam, contact us today.