NIH Asks Citizens To Take Special Preventive Measures Against Pollen Allergy

ISLAMABAD, Apr 8 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Apr, 2018 ) :National Institute of Health (NIH) on Sunday advised the citizens to take special preventive measures in prevailing high risk pollen season to avert any medical complication.

According to an official of NIH, citizens should limit their outdoor activities when pollen counts are high and keep windows and doors closed during pollen season. He asked the pollen allergy patients to wearing filter masks while going outside and avoiding unnecessary travel.

He said that women who have a topic dermatitis should wear gloves while working in the kitchen and people who have eye allergy like allergic conjunctivitis may use (UV protected) glasses. He said that citizens should take bath and shampoo their hair daily before going to bed as this will remove pollen from their hair and skin and keep it off their bedding.

He said that citizens should wash bedding hot and soapy water once a week. He said that citizens should wear sunglasses and a hat as this will help keep pollen out of their eyes and off their hair.The official said that citizens should limit close contact with pets that spend a lot of time outdoors and keeping the pet animals out of home as their dander can aggravate allergic symptoms.

He said that citizens should change and wash clothes worn during outdoor activities and suggested them to dry their clothes in a clothes dryer, not on an outdoor line. He advised for taking care of cleanliness of rooms and taking out carpets and other dust catching linens in the rooms or if necessary can be covered with clean clothing.

He asked the pollen allergy patients to continue taking allergy medicine during pollen season as this allows the medicine to prevent body from releasing histamine and other chemicals that cause symptoms.

He said that the pollen is one of the most common triggers of seasonal allergies. He added many people know pollen allergy as hay fever while experts usually refer to pollen allergy as seasonal allergic rhinitis.

He said that each spring, summer and fall, plants release tiny pollen grains to fertilize other plants of the same species. He said that most of the pollens that cause allergic reactions come from trees, weeds and grasses. These plants make small, light and dry pollen grains that travel by the wind, he added.