If you live with respiratory allergies, you know how quickly coughing, sneezing, and congestion can disrupt your normal routine, especially during certain seasons or environments. While medications can help ease symptoms, your daily habits also play a big role in how well you manage your allergies.
At Respacare in Bridgewater, New Jersey, our respiratory experts, Dr. Nehal Mehta and Dr. Prashant Patel provide comprehensive allergy care tailored to your triggers and symptoms. Alongside medical treatment, adopting the right lifestyle habits can make a difference.
Here, we want to share lifestyle habits that can help you manage your respiratory allergies.
Knowing what you're allergic to through allergy testing is just the first step in managing your respiratory allergies. It’s equally important to track when and where your symptoms tend to flare.
Checking the daily pollen counts and air quality daily before heading outside is a good habit to get into. When exposure levels are high, wear sunglasses and a mask to minimize contact. Once home, change and wash your clothes right away to keep allergens from spreading indoors.
A clean home helps reduce allergens that collect on floors, furniture, and bedding. Vacuum and dust regularly. Also, wash your sheets weekly in hot water to remove dust mites, pollen, and other potential allergens.
Clean one room at a time. Cleaning can stir up allergens, and having a “safe room” gives you a break while the dust settles.
Indoor air filters are a great tool for keeping the air you breathe at home as clean as possible. Use high-efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA) with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 8 or higher. The higher the MERV, the better the filter traps tiny particles.
Change the filter as instructed to ensure continuous protection.
While there’s no special diet for people with respiratory allergies (unless food is a trigger for your respiratory allergies), eating more fruits and vegetables is good for your immune system.
Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals that support your immune health and may reduce inflammation.
Try to eat 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.
Your allergies and symptoms can change over time. Regular check-ins allow us to adjust your treatment plan and provide the latest options for relief.
At Respacare, our goal is to help you breathe easier and feel better year-round.
If your respiratory allergies affect your quality of life, now is the time to contact us for help by calling or booking online.
