During these summer months most of us hit the road with our families and loved ones to try to get away and enjoy a break from work or school. Unfortunately, our allergies do not take a vacation away from our bodies during this time. While 40% of American families will be taking advantage of vacationing during these summer months, 50% of these individuals will suffer from allergies while traveling.
For the average person with minor allergies this may not be enough ruin your whole vacation. But for those with chronic allergies, this can lead to a miserable experience of runny noses, coughs, chronic headaches, itchy and water eyes and other pains that make the bed seem like a better destination.
The reason we experience allergies is pretty straightforward: Poor air quality, both outdoors and indoors, that results from mold, pollens, dust mites and other allergens. Even an airplane or a hotel room is no escape from the various contaminants that can exist in the air we breathe and the surfaces we interact with.
How do we escape when our summer escape is wrought with allergies?
One option that is becoming a new hit in travel today is known as the “Pure” hotel room experience. This trend is becoming more and more popular with allergy-suffering travelers worldwide.
At hotels offering “pure” rooms, visitors can pay an extra fee for a room that is friendlier to their allergies. The difference in these rooms varies by hotel, but with many you can expect:
- High-quality portable or installed HEPA air filtration systems.
- Extra attention given to the cleaning of surfaces, sheets and towels. Often, only perfume and dye-free detergents are used in washing.
- Hyper-allergenic pillows, blankets and other bedding products that prevent dust mites and other allergens are used.
- Other measures to eliminate allergens and improve overall indoor air quality.
While a pure hotel room sounds appealing, the price is often not practical for the average allergy-suffering vacationer. You could say it’s less than “pure”fect. But that doesn’t mean you should cancel your reservation and hold-up in your home with a box of tissues. There are plenty of steps you can take to make allergies far less obtrusive during your holiday.
Below are some tips you can follow while on the road or at your hotel that may take the trouble out of traveling with allergies:
- Run the air conditioning in your vehicle and in your hotel room to filter out contaminants.
- Request a hotel room that is far from any indoor pool, steam room or onsite gym. These areas often have very high humidity, which is a contributing factor to mold growth on surfaces or within walls where you can’t see it. This can lead to airborne mold spores that cause severe allergic reactions or respiratory problems. If you see mold or water stains in your hotel room, request a different room.
- Try to request a room that gets plenty of sun light. Rooms that are in dark corners or that face away from the sun may be cooler, but they also receive less sunlight and harbor excess moisture. These factors can lead to an overabundance of dust mites, a leading cause of allergies. While dust mites like warmer temperatures, the UV rays in sunlight kill them. They also like humidity and moisture, which can be reduced with proper ventilation.
- Take a portable air purifier or nebulizer to clean the air and reduce airborne pollutants in your hotel or car.
- Use saline or an antihistamine nasal spray to combat allergies.
- If you’re very sensitive to allergies or have severe food allergies, keeping an EpiPen on hand is always a safe bet. You can use this pen-like device to inject yourself or a family member with medicine in the event of a life-threatening allergic reaction to foods, insect bites or other causes.
These are just some helpful tips to make summer travel more enjoyable for allergy sufferers. For more tips and information about allergies and indoor air quality (IAQ), please peruse the rest of the website.
