It takes a lot for Wyndal Hudson to sing during allergy season. He's endured nine years of allergy shots and lots of medicines.
"Sometimes you can't even talk, sometimes you don't even have a voice, a singing voice," Hudson said.
It used to be he couldn't go outside when the pollen is bad like it is now. First, the drought stressed the trees and that triggered extra pollen.
"With the warm winter we've had and all the rain we've had this winter as well, the trees, as soon as they got the opportunity, they started pollinating," said Dr. Mas Takashima with the Baylor College of Medicine sinus center.
So instead of starting in February, as usual, allergy season began at the end of December! Dr. Takashima says use technology against your allergies. tells you which pollen is bad.
"The allergens themselves will cause inflammation so the sinuses can get completely blocked off," Dr. Takashima said.
That leads to sinus infections. There's another way allergies make us sick.
"Whenever you have bad allergies the chance of you getting a cold or virus, as well as the severity of the cold or virus, is significant," Dr. Takashima said.
To protect yourself he says:
- Nasal saline washes to clear pollen and bacteria out of your nose
- Use daily antihistamines
- Nasal steroid sprays
- Antibacterial gels to keep germs down
Hudson does all this, and he says, it's working.
Here's something else that might help: bathe your pets more often. Allergists say your pets carry lots of pollen in the house on their fur.
