Helping a Spouse With Sinus Allergies

Helping a Spouse with Sinus Allergies

In this article

• Create an Allergy-Proof Home
• Minimize Sinus Allergy Triggers Inside and Out
• Visit an Allergist Together

Minimize Sinus Allergy Triggers Inside and Out

You may love being in the great outdoors, but your spouse will love it if you don’t bring it back in the house with you. Try some of these tips:

• Post a note by the door asking people who come into your house to leave their shoes in the yard or on the porch so they don’t track pollen into the house.
• Suggest that your spouse use a painter’s mask or preventive nose gel when working in the yard. Allergy experts advise purchasing masks from an allergy supply house, not a hardware store, because they may be more effective at filtering pollen. Your spouse might also try swabbing a preventive nose gel on the outside of the nose before working in the yard or being near an animal that sets off an allergic reaction.
• Consider allergies when dividing up chores. Perhaps you can tackle the allergy-inducing jobs such as dusting and raking, and your allergy-prone partner can cook and wash dishes. If your spouse needs to do heavy cleaning or yard work, suggest an antihistamine first to help prevent a flare-up.
• If you have pets, try brushing, shedding, or washing them outside to avoid stirring up dander in the house if that worsens your spouse’s allergies.

Visit an Allergist Together

In the end, if one person in a couple is living with sinus allergies, both people are really living with them. If your spouse hasn’t seen an allergist in a while, encourage a visit.

You might also want to go along to learn more about environmental modifications, OTC treatments, immunotherapy to desensitize people to allergies over time, and new prescription medications.

With a little teamwork, both you and your spouse may end up breathing easier.