Back to School and Fall Allergies

This post was sponsored by the makers of BENADRYL®. All opinions are my own.

It can’t be that time already, can it? Where did our summer go? It seems that we look forward to summer break all year long and then it passes by in a flash. I don’t actually even get the relief of the kids going back to school this year, because we are homeschooling them.

Yes, homeschooling. Which means that while I am not packing up things to go TO school, I am readying my house to BE the school. We are getting desks set up in the kids rooms, school supplies for our own use and readying ourselves for an incredibly busy fall.

Back to school for a lot of people means a lot of back to school allergy worries. One of the biggest allergy problems in the fall is Ragweed. There are over 17 varieties in North America and I have TWO ragweed allergy sufferers in the family, my husband and my son.

If Mike even gets near a patch, his allergies are intolerable. Ragweed starts blooming in August and if you have a warm Fall, it will bloom until October!

Not only that, but I read that each plant produces a billion grains of pollen, which can travel hundreds of miles! This has a huge impact on allergy sufferers all over North America in the fall, to the point where it seems that everyone has a Fall cold, but in actual fact, it’s allergies.

Not only is it time for fall allergies to kick in, it’s also time for back to school allergies to hit. Besides food allergies, schools are full of chalk dust, perhaps mold and even just normal dust can trigger kids allergies.

The most important thing to remember if you have a child with allergies is to have a plan of action, so that you notify teachers and the school nurse of any emergency medications, such as quick relief inhalers and epinephrine. Writing down an allergy action plan lessens the chances of any mistakes at school. Having a precise allergy action plan in place for your child at school can save lives!

As for our ragweed allergies, Mike and Mr. K generally stick to Benadryl® to help them with their constant runny noses in the fall. It’s hard to concentrate during the day when you are battling allergies and we find that a small dose in the morning helps alleviate their symptoms so that they can tackle their days!

 

Do you have any allergies in the household that you have to worry about when it’s back to school time?

Well, I’m not sure if I should wish you “Happy Back to School!” but then again, it’s time to send all those kids back! Who wants mine?? Just kidding, I am looking forward to spending another year with them at home!

 

Love,

Karlynn