Although it’s not Spring yet, the plum tree in my back yard has started blooming. It’s really beautiful but also marks the beginning of a beautiful but miserable season for someone who suffers nasal allergy, myself included. Although allergy pills are the most practical things you can buy as gifts, there are more you can do to help alleviate allergy symptoms for those with nasal allergy. Here are a couple of things that I bought for myself and saw that they have helped relieving my sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes. Hope that you can find at least one that works for you, your friends or relatives.
Air Purifier
The Hoover air purifier has been my good friend for years living with nasal allergy. Besides having a HEPA filter, this air purifier also has the UV light, which is to make the air even cleaner by removing airborne germs, bacteria and microorganisms. Plus it has a sensor that can sense the air quality and automatically adjusts the fan speed. My air purifier has been reliable, and I can actually feel the air crispier and cleaner — maybe just a psychological/placebo effect. One thing for sure, the amount of dust gathering in my room is significantly reduced and I always breath more easily with the air purifier on.
Allergy Control Pillow Encasement
Having nasal allergy, I’ve been hunting, literally, for products that make my life easier during allergy season. One of the sources causing allergy come from pillows and mattresses. This special pillow protector, made with 100% cotton, is to serve as barrier to dust mites, pet dander and allergens and great help with my allergy relief. At the time of writing, Allersoft is made in the USA and has life-time warranty. You can check it out and see how other people think about the product. Sometimes great results can come from little investment!
Allergen Reducer Spray
I’ve seen Febreze commercials for their new allergen reducer spray on TV a couple of days ago and thought I’d introduce it here. In addition to the original fresh and light smell as well as the capability to eliminate odors from fabric, this new product can also reduce up to 75% of allergens from cats, dogs, and dust mites that can become airborne. There are other similar products that work in the same fashion that you can check out and find out what fits your needs.
Swiffer Duster
This perhaps doesn’t look like a gift, but it’s really helpful. Having allergy, whenever I see dust on the table, cabinet, window blind or TV, I have to wipe it. Just thinking about having dust laying on the surface of these things can actually trigger my allergy. The Swiffer duster is so convenient, and it can pick up and lock the dust and allergens without releasing them back into the air.
Sealed Vacuum Cleaner
Vacuum cleaners with older technology don’t have a sealed system, so whenever vacuuming, the machine sucks up dust and all that in one way and releases some of it back to the air. I couldn’t bear that kind of moldy, musty smell. Sealed vacuum cleaners like the Shark Navigator or Oreck have sealed system together with HEPA filtration to capture and hold over 99.99% of dust and allergens inside the vacuum, not back into the air. While I heard good things about Oreck, Shark is also excellent and less expensive, and I got myself one.
Nasal Filters / Face Mask
Although may not look good and doesn’t look like a gift, the (surgeon) face mask is effective in preventing allergy, especially when you have to work outside in the yard, mow your lawn, clean out your cat litter box or handle anything that is dusty and smelly. If you want to try/gift something different, better looking, more discreet and more advanced/hi-tech, try the nasal filters. Those filters are made of ultrathin, breathable mesh that you can put in the nostrils. Nasal filters are discreet but supposedly be able to filter out pollen, pet hair, dust etc. I haven’t used them, but heard some good feedback from some friends who tried them out. Check them out yourself.
Allergy Medicine
Here you go, last but never least, the most obvious but the least creative gift ideas for someone with nasal allergy: allergy medicine. Zyrtec D works for me, but as you know, there’re many different over-the-counter allergy medicine from Claritin, to Allegra or Benadryl. Maybe the one that’s not drowsy (Claritin D, Zyrtec D, Allegra), works full day, would be best.
Nasal Allergy Spray
For some people, an allergy pill would do the job; for many others, allergy pill alone is not strong enough. If so, using nasal allergy spray would probably help. I’ve tried Xlear while my one of my co-workers has been using Nasal Crom, and we both see the good results from these spray. I, however, have used it in addition to Zyrtec, while my co-worker only uses the spray without further medicine.
Happy breathing & gifting! Hope this helps!