Enjoy the Great Outdoors

By Barbara Loecher, Prevention

Even if you're allergic to it!

It's starting! At this very moment, the trees around your home are mobilizing for their first major assault of the season. That's allergy season, those sneezy, itchy-eyed, congested months from early spring to late fall when trees, then grasses, and finally, weeds bombard the air with pollen. If that weren't irritating enough, it's also the time of year when outdoor molds start to release airborne spores.

If you're one of the more than 35 million Americans with seasonal allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, you may already be feeling nostalgic for sleet and slush. You needn't. The truth is, you can still venture outdoors, and enjoy it too. Here's how to stay outside, active and virtually symptom-free, all allergy season.

Duck the Stuff that Makes You Sneeze
With pollen and mold, the best approach is avoidance. Pollen and mold spore levels vary with location, time of day, and the weather, explains Gailen D. Marshall, MD, PhD, director of the division of allergy and clinical immunology at the University of Texas, Houston, Medical School. To avoid spending lots of time in their company, follow this guide.

The "No Problem" Guide to >Exercising
You breathe harder and suck in more air when you're exercising than when you're, say, lying on the couch. That's why it's particularly important to minimize your exposure to allergens when you work out outside. The more air you suck in, the more airborne pollen and mold spores you suck in too. To minimize your exposure, exercise when and where pollen and mold levels are lowest. And...

Be fickle.
If you dabble in different types of exercise, stick with the one least likely to expose you to allergens during allergy season. Opt for tennis on a cement court rather than, say, golf, suggests Malcolm N. Blumenthal, MD, director of the Asthma and Allergy Program at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.

Breathe through your nose, not your mouth.
Your nose filters incoming air, helping keep allergens out.

Medicate first.
Using certain medications, such as cromolyn sodium and antihistamines, before you exercise can ease symptoms.

Exercise inside.
When the pollen count is high, it's time to go to the gym or the mall.

Avoid outdoor chemicals.
In addition to avoiding pollen-showered groves and moldering leaf piles, steer clear of major highways and industries when you exercise. Chemical irritants from exhaust and from factory smokestacks can worsen allergy symptoms, says Dr. Blumenthal. And avoid fireworks displays on the holidays; the sulfur in the gunpowder is irritating.

Lighten Your Load
Your "allergenic load," that is. The more allergens you're exposed to at a given time, the higher your allergenic load, and the worse your symptoms are, Dr. Marshall explains. If you're allergic to cats and dust mites in addition to pollen and mold, curling up on an overstuffed chair with Fluffy on a spring afternoon can make that load virtually unbearable.
Here are some tips to help you limit your exposure to these top offenders:

Dust mites.
Substitute washable throw rugs for wall-to-wall carpets, which, like blankets, down comforters, and curtains, are favorite mite habitats. Choose shades for windows. Or wash curtains, along with throw rugs and bed linens, in hot water (more than 130°F) to kill mites. Dust often with a damp cloth. Get a zippered, plastic, dust-proof cover for your mattress.