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Aprilaire Makes the Top 100 Allergy Capitals More Livable
Proactive Preparation a Must for the Brutal 2015 Allergy Season
MADISON, Wis. – Aprilaire, the nation’s indoor air quality leader, offers tips to quell allergy symptoms in advance of a brutal spring season. The 2015 allergy season might be one of the worst ever, according to experts at the Weather Channel. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released its 2015 Spring Allergy Capitals list, revealing which areas will be hit the hardest.
“If you’re an allergy sufferer and live near any of America’s top allergy cities, you cannot escape allergic reactions to pollen,” said Joseph Hillenmeyer, marketing content specialist for Aprilaire. “But you can take measures to lessen the impact.”
This season, the warm fall coupled with a wet and cold winter is causing trees and flowers to produce more pollen. A pollen count of 150 grains per cubic meter triggers allergic reactions. The cities in the top 100 average 300 grains per cubic meter daily – twice the trigger level. As a result, millions of Americans could see worsened allergy symptoms, but most do not realize that pretreatment should begin thirty days prior to the onset of symptoms.
“The key to surviving this spring is preparing early,” said Hillenmeyer. “It’s easier to prevent a fire than put one out, and that should be the thinking when bracing for this allergy season.”
Proactive preparation is the key to comfort this spring, so build up defenses with the right treatment and a secure home that offers refuge from allergy symptoms.
Top 4 Ways to Stop Allergies Before They Start
Get an early start: Allergy pretreatment should begin thirty days prior to the usual onset of allergy symptoms. Seasonal allergy symptoms are the body’s overactive immune response to pollen in the air. Once activated, the response is hard to stop, according to WebMD. Depending on where you live, the time to start pretreatment with medicine will vary. For individuals in the Northeast and Midwest, early April is a good time to begin.
Clean, clean, clean. Wash the pollen away. When outside pollen collects on hair, skin, clothes and pets, it gets brought into the home. If not removed, pollen will become airborne and a person could breathe it in, causing an allergic reaction. Wash pollen from hair and skin each night, and put clothing that has been outdoors in a hamper or washer as soon as you come inside.
Improve your indoor air: Even with doors and windows closed, pollen and other irritants often find their way inside. Standard one-inch furnace filters are not rated to remove pollen. By using a whole-home air purifier, the home can become a refuge from allergies. High-quality home air purifiers remove up to 98 percent of airborne pollen and pet dander that cause allergic reactions. A home with improved indoor air quality provides symptom relief for allergy sufferers.
Change your whole-home air filters at least once a year. Even high-quality, whole-home air purifiers do not work with dirty filters, and knock-off brand filters could actually damage the HVAC system. A good rule of thumb – have your air purifier filter changed once a year, when you have your HVAC system serviced.
This spring, control your allergies before they control you. For more information on proactive preparation and how to create a home refuge from allergy symptoms, visit Aprilaire.com.
