seasonal allergies

The chorus of sneezes and sniffles says it loud and clear: allergy season has arrived. But while warmer weather makes us want to lace up our shoes and hightail it outside, if you suffer from seasonal allergies doing so may make you miserable and unable to finish your workout. Here are some tips for preventing, avoiding, or relieving allergies during your exercise routine.

• Prevent: Before exercising outdoors, you can do a few things to help make constant sneezy and itchy eyes a distant memory. While allergy medication may be the best option for many, you can also try these easy natural remedies, like changing out of your exercise clothes as soon as you get home or eating a tablespoon of local honey in order to alleviate and prevent allergy symptoms from returning.
• Avoid: An indoor workout may be best when pollen levels are highest. Also, finding out what you're exactly allergic to will help you decide when it's OK to go for a run outside, but in general you may want to avoid morning workouts, since pollen levels peak from 5 a.m until around noon.
• Relieve: Feeling congested from your seasonal allergies? Break a sweat (inside). Warming up your body, whether through a hot yoga or intense cardio, helps clear out your sinuses and decreases congestion.

Last week, I got a chance to chat with designer Sabrina Soto about Spring cleaning, organizing, outdoor entertaining, and more. As the host of HGTV's Get It Sold, Soto has a lot of experience of whipping homes that have seen better days into livable, relaxing, and stylish spaces. One topic that I've been particularly interested in lately is how to handle the allergens, dust, and other unwelcome particles that are ubiquitous in our homes in the Spring. Soto had a few very helpful tips to share:

• "It may not be glamorous, but a vacuum is one of the most useful home appliances you can own! Regularly cleaning with a HEPA filter vacuum will help capture the allergy-inducing particles you can't see that collect in upholstery and carpets."
• "To help keep dust from gathering, install easy-to-clean shades or machine washable panels, and clean regularly. If you have curtains, take them down once every two months and have them dry-cleaned."
• "Stick with bright colorful flowers as they rely on insects to transport their pollen rather than wind. Because of this, brighter flowers tend to produce less pollen."

Continue reading for more of Sabrina's tips!

Allergy season is in full force. For many sufferers, this time of the year is marked by runny noses, watery, itchy eyes, sneezing, sinus pain, and headaches. An estimated 40 million to 50 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies — so what can we do about them?

According to Dr. Oz, an allergic response to pollens is actually the sign of an active immune system, but before we go and toast to our runny noses, here are some natural solutions that often help conquer those pesky symptoms.

• Heat therapy. Warmer temperature is a great way to relieve congestion because it helps get the fluid and congestion in your face and chest moving by helping to think it out. Try exercising more or investing in a humidifier.
• Local honey. Many folks I know take a tablespoon of honey a day to combat allergies. The belief is that ingesting local pollen from honey builds resistance to the surrounding fauna. And while it may work for some people, remember that it's a home remedy that might not work for everyone, but is worth trying. If it doesn't help with your sniffles and sneezing, you're still getting vitamins B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and minerals like calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. Honey also contains antioxidants and vitamin C. All that and it tastes good, too!

Keep reading for more tips and helpful suggestions.

The other day on the bus, I overheard a group of young women talking. "Every time I drink, no matter if it's wine, beer, or liquor, I get a runny nose and start sneezing," one of them said. "Do you think I could be allergic to alcohol?"

A recent article in the New York Times may help clear things up for her — literally! The article reports that consuming alcohol can actually worsen the effects of allergies. Citing two different studies, the piece explains that it's not the alcohol itself that makes symptoms worse; it's a by-product of the beverages' fermentation processes. During fermentation of beer, wine, and liquor, yeast and bacteria produce histamine, which can cause or enhance allergy symptoms. Plus, sulfites found in wine and beer can also cause similar reactions.

In one study, Swedish researchers found that those with hay fever or other respiratory conditions were more likely to experience allergy symptoms after having a drink, with women twice as likely. And another study of several thousand women found more than two glasses of wine a day nearly doubled the risk of allergy symptoms. Some foods can also trigger similar reactions; cider, grapes, pickled foods, and yeast-containing foods like bread also contain a small amount of histamine. While these foods and drinks alone don't seem to cause a reaction in most, when consumed while you're already experiencing allergy symptoms it could make the sniffling, sneezing, and itching a lot worse.

Pollen and cat fur are not my friends, and when I become so stuffed up I can't smell a thing, I turn to my neti pot. It looks like a little teapot. You fill it with warm salt water, place the spout in one nostril and as the water passes through your nasal passages and comes out the other nostril; it helps get rid of irritants and mucus so you can breathe easier. I know it sounds medieval, but it really works whether I'm stuffed up from smelling flowers or if I have a cold. Last Spring I was happy to hear that science backed up the use of a neti pot to relieve congestion, but I've got some bad news for my fellow neti pot lovers. A new study shows that long-term use of the neti pot can actually cause sinus problems. The study followed 68 people who used their neti for a year, and then took a break for a year. The rate of sinusitis actually dropped by 62 percent in the year that the participants stopped using the neti pot.

Researchers believe that the mucus in your nasal passages acts as a defense against infection, and flushing it away disrupts your body's immune function. They recommend that neti pots be used every once in a while to relieve congestion, but should not be used daily for an extended period of time. If you have issues with constantly being stuffed up, see your doctor so they can help figure out the cause of your congestion and how to treat it.

If you've never heard of a neti pot and want to see how it's used, check out a how-to video when you read more

The unofficial start of ragweed season was Aug. 15.

Seventeen species of this inconspicuous weed grow throughout the US, but mostly on the East Coast and Midwest. Pollen from ragweed adversely affects 10 to 20 percent of the US population. It is estimated that 36 million Americans will suffer through the allergy symptoms of itchy, watering eyes, runny nose, sore throat, congestion, and problems sleeping over the course of the Fall season. If you are allergic to ragweed, you may also have an oral reaction (itchiness and mild swelling around the mouth) to some foods including bananas, cucumbers, zucchinis, and melons.

Ragweed season continues through mid-October. If you're suffering, I have a few tips to help. Learn them when you read more