Actually, if you suffer from weed allergies, you know it’s the season. The sneezing, the itchy eyes, and the nasal drip give s it away. Ragweed season runs from mid-August through mid-October, so we are coming into the home stretch (well, we’re half-way there, and I’m an optimist). If you’ve been suffering from what you thought was a cold since Labor Day (with no fever), there’s a good chance it’s actually allergies.
I recently learned that ragweed in the US is growing stronger, and it’s growing season is lengthening in the US. A member of the daisy family (I had no idea! Daisies are one of my favorite flowers, and so unassuming.) It’s estimated that a single ragweed plant can produce 1 billion grains of pollen in one season. IT CANNOT BE AVOIDED, FRIENDS!
The Fox and I have been dosing up on our allergy meds since the first day of school. CVS carries a full line of name brand and store brand allergy medications. The Fox is good with an OTC product. Since having pneumonia, I need a prescription medication as well as an OTC one. It’s a duo that’s currently working well for me, and I’m so glad!
If you’re wondering if that cold that’s been hanging on since the swimming pools were open, swing by your local CVS Minute Clinic and see if it’s really a cold. Their staff can help you determine how to treat whatever is ailing you. It can be tricky this time of year, because not only is it allergy season, it’s also the beginning of flu season. If your symptoms have come on quickly, and you have a fever, it could very well be a bad cold or the flu.
Meds help, but I’ve also instituted my “allergy season” cleaning routines. I’m washing pillow cases and towels, washing hair, and vacuuming/sweeping on the regular. This time of year I can’t resist opening the windows, but I don’t do so between the hours of 10am – 4pm, when ragweed flies around the most. A good rain always calms things down, so I like to enjoy the outdoors after a good rain (like yesterday). Dust mites are also a likely culprit in the fall, so I’ll be changing our furnace filter and vacuuming the vents as well.
I look forward to the first hard frost more than your average person- until then, we’re thankful for CVS for keeping us healthy.
Disclosure: Thanks to CVS MinuteClinic for sponsoring today’s discussion, and for stocking everything we need to survive this season!
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