How To Manage Grass Allergies With Or Without Artificial Grass

According to the Centers for Disease Control, last year around 19.1 million adults suffered with grass allergies, or ‘hay fever’ as it’s more commonly called. The official medical term allergic rhinitis results in sneezing, congestion, itchy eyes & nose and watery eyes. Those with a more severe reaction may even get hives upon contact with grass or suffer asthma attacks. It’s one of the most common pollen allergies, affecting young and old, humans and canines alike. Unfortunately, grass allergies make some of the most beautiful months of the year very uncomfortable. Spring and early summer are quickly approaching, and those who suffer pollen allergies need to be prepared.

Managing grass allergies around your home or business

There are some simple environmental changes you can make to help alleviate your hay fever.

First, keep the windows closed and stay indoors as much as possible. If that was too obvious for you, here’s another: keep your lawn cut short. This helps reduce the reproduction of grass pollen in your yard. The longer the grass grows and matures, the more pollen it produces. It is preferable to find someone else to cut the grass. As a grass allergy sufferer, you should personally avoid mowing the lawn as much as possible during months of high grass pollination. If this is unavoidable, try taking an antihistamine first and wearing a mask to help block the pollen from hitting your nose and mouth.

Another option is to eliminate as much grass around the immediate area of your home or business by installing artificial turf, pavement, or patio stones. This can be especially helpful when used around points of entry, such as air conditioning units, vents, windows, and doors. While we are on the subject of air conditioners, reduce the amount of pollen that enters the building by using the highest HEPA rated filters available.

Other good ideas for reducing grass allergies include not drying laundry outdoors, maintaining clean surfaces in the home, and brushing your pets after they come in from the outdoors to eliminate pollen. Consider using a HEPA filter in your vacuum cleaner to help get rid of grass pollen in carpets, curtains, and furnishings as well. Experts also recommend maintaining a humidity level of between 30% to 50% inside the home, which cuts down on pollen. Synthetic lawns are naturally hypoallergenic, so installing an artificial turf lawn in your yard will greatly reduce pollen allergies. We’ll discuss more on this later.

Lifestyle choices to reduce hay fever symptoms

Decrease the strength of an allergic reaction by using over the counter eye drops, saline sprays to keep the nasal area free of pollen, and taking oral antihistamines. Taking non-drowsy antihistamines in anticipation of and during allergy season will help reduce your grass allergy. There are also prescription nasal steroid sprays and long-term administration of allergy shots that may be prescribed by your doctor. If you suffer severe grass allergies that might result in anaphylaxis (a life-threatening allergic reaction), your doctor should prescribe a self-injectable Epinephrine called an Epi-Pen.

For those more inclined to seek a natural alternative, studies suggest that a large amount of omega-3 fatty acids and carotenoids help reduce allergy symptoms. This means ingesting foods rich in fatty acids, like walnuts and fish oil, and in beta-carotene, like sweet potatoes and carrots. Other solutions may lie in stress management and even acupuncture. For more on natural remedies to grass allergies, see this helpful website.

Another lifestyle choice you can make is a simple one: choose artificial turf to reduce your grass allergies.

At Heavenly Greens, we are pleased to offer beautiful, natural looking artificial turf for your yard. Our hypoallergenic turf will help relieve those suffering from grass allergies. Just think—that’s three or more months a year you’ll win back to play and relax in your yard without fear of pollen. You won’t have to worry about keeping the grass cut short, or about finding someone else to do that work so you don’t have an allergy attack. Not only does it look beautiful year-round, but artificial turf is a safe, clean alternative to having a natural lawn, and it saves you money and energy in the long run.

Heavenly Greens is Northern California’s leading provider of artificial grass and synthetic turf systems for both residential and commercial artificial turf landscaping. Founded in 2001, our focus is providing only the highest quality synthetic turf products available to the market. Fake grass applications include: homes, business, golf courses and putting greens, dog facilities and daycares, sports fields and more. Learn more about Heavenly Greens and artificial lawn.