As the weather cools and Summer reaches its end, people begin to prepare themselves- both mentally and physically- for Fall. This is the time of year when we see an increase in sicknesses like colds and the flu. To protect ourselves against these seasonal illnesses, many of us get vaccinated or take extra care to avoid germ hotspots.
It’s a common misconception that cooler weather means fewer allergies. However, this isn’t always the case. In fact, cold and flu season may make fall allergies trickier to spot and properly treat.
How to Determine the Source
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, millions suffer from pollen allergies or hay fever. However, fall allergies share common symptoms with flu viruses and colds: sneezing; a runny or stuffy nose; coughing; itchy nose and throat; etc.
So how can you tell which one you have?
- Time – Symptoms of a cold or the flu generally occur suddenly and only last for a few days, while allergic reactions happen immediately and can persist for much longer periods of time. If you’re frequently exposed to an allergen, your symptoms may even appear year-round.
- Treatment – Flu and cold viruses have to run their course, but allergy symptoms such as postnasal drip and watery, swollen, or itchy eyes can be relieved with appropriate treatment.
- Temperature – If you have a fever, it’s most likely that you have the flu or a cold.
Identifying the cause of your symptoms is much simpler if you know how. However, as with many things in life, the best defense is a good offense. We can also take a few simple measures to help prevent hay fever by learning about typical fall allergies. The first step is to understand what common hay-related allergens are.
Reduce, Remove, Relieve
As with flu and cold viruses, you can’t completely block allergens, but you can limit your exposure to them. High-efficiency filters and regular cleaning can help reduce fall allergy symptoms by removing common indoor allergens.
- Reduce — By installing a top-rated furnace filter with MERV 8 filtration, you can reduce the allergens in your home by trapping things like pollen, dust, and dander. Additionally, vacuuming your carpets with a three-stage HEPA vacuum once or twice a week will also help to lower the amount of allergens flying around.
- Remove — Get your carpets and upholstery clean with a local Chem-Dry carpet cleaner like Carine Chem-Dry in the fall. Our proprietary Hot Carbonating Extraction (HCE) process was revealed to remove, on average, 98% of common home allergens, such as dog and cat dander and dust mites, from carpets and upholstery. Not only that, because our low-moisture HCE method uses about 80% less water than traditional steam cleaning, your carpets will dry in hours rather than days and you won’t have to worry about mold or mildew development as a result of using too much water.
- Relieve — Some indoor and outdoor pollutants will find their way into our lives and homes, even if we take precautions. But that does not mean we have to tolerate them. A Chem-Dry carpet cleaning on Long Island can help you eliminate allergens hiding in your home, as well as improve your indoor air quality, whether you suffer from allergies or not.
Schedule Your Fall Carpet Cleaning on Long Island Today!
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