Pollen allergy: any tips to bike during the spring?
Pollen allergy: any tips to bike during the spring?
Biking in this petiod can be a pain for people with pollen allergy.
Do you gave any tip to share? Do you wear a mask? What kind? Anything to protect your eyes?
Thsnk you
(Picture source: Brainwashed https://www.flickr.com/people/39453974@N04 )
Local antihistamine medication is extremely effective.
Usually feel it in the eyes? Eye drops.
Nose? Nasal spray.
Lungs/throat? Inhaler.
My eyes especially, react quite violently, and eye drops provide instant relief. And by administering right before heading out, I can be good for hours.
I also use a nasal spray, though that requires a bit more forethought. If you get symptoms and your nose starts running, that same mucus is gonna prevent the aerosolised medication from getting to the irritated mucus membrane, so it can't be used to relieve symptoms once they start.
I use clear biking glasses for long hauls through rain, if I don't, I get headaches because I keep squinting 'against' the rain, and with those glasses I can relax my face more easily. They would also reduce the amount of pollen hitting you eyeballs.
Generic Zyrtec has helped me this spring
I wear a single layer cloth mask for running as that's where I suffer the worst. Makes it really hot and heavy but still infinitely better than wheezing the whole time.
I don't really need it for cycling but it's tempting for combating exhaust fumes too.
I would recommend using a weather app/service which also monitors the pollen intensity and avoid high intensity days. Im using Breezy Weather from the F-droid app store.
Also nasal spray/eyedrops before or during the ride helps me a lot, just avoid rubbing your eyes with bare hands. I am using a big single-lense cycling glass to protect my eyes, also good against the wind.
I usually avoid taking tablets as they make me feel drowsy (even the non-drowsy ones)
I take over the counter stuff year-round. Rhinocourt nasal spray keeps everything open and drained, and Allegra does a decent job with the rest. I used to use Claritin, but Allegra seems to work better.
It's supposedly good to rotate between antihistamines, as your body can get used to them, causing their effectiveness to lessen.
Using different medications that use different active ingredients can apparently alleviate this.
Oh that's interesting.
I just learned that I probably have some allergy when I rode along grass field which had some tractors cutting it.
Not ideal on 140km ride.
Allergy meds, a mask to filter out pollen, only ride on low pollen days?
A more long-term approach would be to try to get allergen immunotherapy, if your local health care system allows for it. It's been great for me - I used to not be able to go out during summers, but now I'm completely fine with just one antihistamine pill per day.