The Carolina Asthma & Allergy Center Pollen and Mold Counter will return February 15, 2020.
If you suffer from allergies, your symptoms most likely get worse at night. This is something you share with other allergy patients. In fact, research studies show that 74% of allergy sufferers wake up during the night because of allergy symptoms and over 90% of sufferers have difficulty sleeping.
No matter what type of allergy you have, it can ruin your sleep. Rashes, food allergies, or an upset stomach triggered by allergies can cause sleep problems, but the most common pair of sleep-destroyers are nasal allergies and asthma.
Surprisingly, pollen levels continue to rise throughout the night and peak around dawn. Keeping windows closed and running air conditioning with a premium air filter can help reduce night time allergy symptoms.
Pillows and mattresses are great for you getting a good night’s sleep, but they also excel at harboring allergy triggers such as dust mites, pollen, and pet dander. Replacing pillows or covering them with an anti-allergy pillow case helps. In addition, there are anti-allergen mattress covers for sale that are effective in helping to relieve night time allergy symptoms.
In addition to dander, pets also carry dust mites, pollen and other allergens trapped in their coats. Allowing them to sleep on your bed allows for these allergens to transfer onto bedding and night clothes making allergy symptoms worse.
You need your sleep, so, the room you sleep in needs to be cleaned often to remove pollen, dust mites, and other allergens. Vacuuming under the bed helps in this effort by removing allergens living underneath it. A home-remedy that helps keep your bedroom allergen free is to wipe down hard flooring, molding and the walls near your bed with white vinegar. Mold is an allergen that enjoys living on dark walls and floors. Dehumidifiers which can help to keep relative humidity at the recommended levels of 30-50% and air conditioning to maintain temperatures at 70 degrees F or below will retard dust mite and mold growth. Hardwood flooring is best.
Throughout the day your body and hair is exposed to and collects allergens such as pollen and dust. Accordingly, if you shower or bathe in the morning, try switching your time to wash your hair and body to before bed time so that you don’t bring allergens into bed with you.
Did you know that you are not able to sneeze when you are asleep? This means that one of the most important ways of ridding your body from allergens, sneezing, is unavailable while you sleep. This can lead to a worsening of symptoms that will wake you up.
Keeping your sleeping environment, your body, and your sleep clothes clear from allergens certainly cannot hurt you and often is enough to give you a comfortable night’s sleep. But, for some, it isn’t enough and the only available option is to improve your allergy medication.
If your allergies are making it difficult to sleep at night, contact Carolina Asthma and Allergy today. Since 1952, Carolina Asthma and Allergy Center has served the Charlotte metropolitan area. Today, the center has 12 offices in and around Charlotte. All the 14 allergists at the center are board certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. To make an appointment at an office near you call 704-870-0541.