Get ready for the pollen count to reach an all time high for the season this weekend. Take proper measures to protect yourself and your kids. Find out what is causing this and how you can survive the allergy season.

On the scale of 0 to 12, we are about to hit the top of the chart with pollen count highs this weekend.

Pollen.com
Pollen.com
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It is ragweed and grass allergy season. Those two combined allergens are causing major issues for people that normally have allergies as well as people that say they never have allergies.

  • Ragweed is everywhere and there are approximately 15 different types of ragweed making it "the largest single seasonal allergen in North America," according to the experts at Pollen.com?
  • Green grass that didn't die out during the summer heat is not helping the situation either since most of us are still mowing our yards and stirring up the grass pollen.

If you are suffering from sneezing, runny nose, congestion, itchy eyes, sore throat or itchy skin right now, you have hay fever. The name is funny because it has nothing to do with actual hay. It happens when we are outside during the pollen season and get in the way of plants, weeds and trees that are releasing pollen to repopulate the earth with more plants, trees and weeds. We end up ingesting that pollen instead of it landing in a field somewhere to seed and grow. The result is allergens entering our bodies causing hay fever and misery.

What can you do to minimize the effects of the allergic response?

Use over the counter allergy pills to help block the histamine reaction. Decongestants are helpful, too. Nasal sprays can be very effective because your nose is where the allergy responses begin. Pollen enters through our noses creating our systems to respond with mucus to surround the allergens and eliminate them, kind of like a flooding rain moves items around in your yard. To minimize the mucus response you can do a sinus flush by sending a saline solution through your nasal passageways via a "Neti Pot" or other some other device that you are comfortable with which you can research through WebMD. Using this kind of nasal flush takes a little getting used to and I suggest that you read all of the instructions or you could have a bad experience. CNN also published a great story on the positive effects of using a Neti Pot system for long term relief of sinusitis.

Staying inside is not necessarily the easiest for everyone but to minimize your exposure to allergy-causing pollen, stay inside if you can from 10AM and 3PM, which is when pollen is flying the most. Drink plenty of water to help your body rid itself of the allergens. Change your air filters often and keep your windows closed and buy soft tissue so you don't rub your nose raw.

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