How Does Pollen Affect Skin Care?

Seasonal allergies seem to attack every inch of your body. From inflamed sinuses and watery eyes to dry and itchy skin, there is often little reprieve from the nightmare that so many allergy-sufferers have come to accept as being part of spring.  While for some the suffering takes place in silence, for others the seasonal pollen attack is anything but private. Just as pollen can attack your sinuses and cause mass hysteria in your body, for some, the external attack is just as real.

Seasonal Allergy Sufferers

Chances are you can spot someone who struggles with seasonal allergies a mile away. They are sneezing, their eyes are watering, and they have a general look of misery mixed with fatigue on their face. But those are far from the only external symptoms of seasonal allergies.

Seasonal allergies cause inflammation throughout the entire body, including on the skin. Repeated exposure to pollen and other springtime air-borne pollutants can cause the skin to develop a yellowish hue, leaving your skin appearing dulled and off-color. What is more, the inflammation typically causes skin to become dry and itchy, in many cases causing the skin to become red and even flaky as the spring season wears on.

Aside from all of this is the fact that spring comes with warmer weather and increased sun exposure, which means that you’ll want to dress for the heat and therefore increase exposure of your skin. This also means that your skin is at an increased risk for burning, which leaves it even more red and damaged.  The strategies that you use to keep your skin in good health during the summer, winter, or fall may not be as affective during the springtime. Adjusting your skin-care strategy can help you keep, look, and feel healthier as the weather warms up.

Strategies that can help you improve your skin health during the spring season include:

• Avoiding lotions or creams with fragrances that can put more stress on your allergies
• Using sensitive-skin lotions to reduce dry and flaky skin
• Avoiding cosmetic products that contain toxic preservatives like parabens or propylene glycol
• Wearing sensitive-skin sun-screen to prevent skin damage from burning

Throughout the spring months, take advantage of allergy medications that will help to reduce inflammation in your body. Anti-histamines can help to relieve watery and red eyes, a runny nose, and the constant sneezing that plague so many people during allergy season.

For more support with springtime skin-care, talk to your dermatologist. Call us at Avail Dermatology today at 770-251-5111 to schedule a personal consultation and evaluation.