Winter wind whips your face and even manages to make it through even the tiniest crack in your armor (I mean, coat). Your nose is so cold that it feels as though it’s going to fall off and leave you looking like Voldemort. The sidewalk is frozen over and you wonder if it would be faster to sit and slide on the ice, which you end up doing after falling over for the umpteenth time. Not a single plant grows in the frigid air.
After months of shivering, slipping, and waiting for spring, it finally comes. Flowers bloom and barren trees sprout new leaves for a fresh start. People pull out weeds and plant fresh flowers. Everything is alive again. Even the air smells sweeter, or so you think, because your nostrils are so clogged up that you can barely remember what it feels like to breathe through your nose. That doesn’t exactly fit with the ideal spring image, does it?
For so many of us, allergies are simply a part of life that we despise but are forced to endure, like tests or timed essays. Tissue boxes and allergy pills begin to accompany otherwise enjoyable picnics in the warm air, and we are left blowing our noses violently while others, who are lucky enough to have no allergies, live it up. Remedy after remedy is forced down our throats to no avail. So what is the solution to this problem?
Unfortunately for those of us with allergies, there may not be a cure-all solution available. But here are two that you may have overlooked:
1. Deep clean carpeted floors
Even though pollen comes from the flowers outside of our homes, it can get trapped in the thick fibers of the comfy carpet in your living room or bedroom. In fact, carpets can hold up to four times their weight in dirt even in normal times, when golden dust isn’t flying around everywhere. When you flee into the security of your home and wonder why your allergies are still tormenting you, these trapped bits of pollen may be the reason why. Either purchase carpet cleaning soap or talk to your parents about hiring a professional.
2. Nasal Rinsing
Tissues may seem like your go-to solution for stuffy noses, but they can actually add to the problem. Dust-mites attached to tissues left in your basement or storage room for a long time can enter your nasal passages and aggravate your allergies even more (which is why my nose was as red as Rudolph’s after using a whole box in one sitting, and I still couldn’t breathe). Instead, make a nasal rinse by mixing salt and drinking water and use an irrigation device to clean out your nose.
Allergies are no joke, especially when they keep us from doing the things we love the most. But with a little bit of help from water, we can flush the pollen out of our systems. So the next time you are tempted to turn your nose inside out and scratch it, try one of these remedies. Maybe even those of us with allergies can enjoy spring this time!
