Healthy Mules
April: Allergy Awareness Month
Reduce your Exposure to Allergy Triggers!
- Stay indoors on dry, windy days. The best time to go outside is after a good rain, which helps clear pollen from the air.
- Avoid lawn mowing, weed pulling and other gardening chores that stir up allergens.
- Remove clothes you've worn outside and shower to rinse pollen from your skin and hair.
- Don't hang laundry outside — pollen can stick to sheets and towels.
- Wear a face mask if you do outside chores.
Seasonal allergy signs and symptoms can flare up when pollen counts are high. Avoiding outdoor activities in the morning when pollen counts are the highest is one way to avoid a flare up. If high pollen counts are forecasted, start taking allergy medications before your symptoms start.
Treating your Allergy Symptoms
Several types of non-prescription medications are available to treat allergy symptoms.
- Oral antihistamines. Antihistamines can help relieve sneezing, itching, a stuffy or runny nose, and watery eyes. A few examples are Claritin and Zyrtec.
- Corticosteroid nasal sprays. These medications improve nasal symptoms. Examples includeFlonase Allergy Relief and Nasacort Allergy 24 Hour. *Talk to your health care provider about long-term use of corticosteroid nasal sprays.
- Oral decongestants. Oral decongestants such as pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) can provide temporary relief from nasal stuffiness. Some allergy medications combine an antihistamine with a decongestant. Examples include Zyrtec-D 12 Hour, Allegra-D 12 Hour Allergy and Congestion and Claritin-D.
*Talk to your health care provider about whether the use of any of these medications are good for treating your allergy symptoms.
Several other alternative treatments are available as well. Rinsing your nasal passages with saline solution is a quick, inexpensive and effective way to relieve nasal congestion. Rinsing directly flushes out mucus and allergens from your nose. A number of other natural remedies have also been used to treat allergy symptoms.
National School Nurses Day: May 10th, 2023
Since 1972, the Wednesday within National Nurses Week has been designated as National School Nurse Day to recognize school nurses and foster a better understanding of the role of school nurses in the educational setting.
Bailey Hester, BSN, RN
Always Caring, Always Here
Email: baileyhester@pb.k12.mo.us
Phone: 573-772-4198