Your nose outruns you
Just as you look at the weather forecast before exercising outside, allergy sufferers should get in the habit of checking the pollen count. (The Weather Channel, for example, routinely predicts this.) If an alert has been issued for your area, Frederick M. Schaffer, MD, chief medical officer of United Allergy Services in San Antonio, recommends adjusting your outdoor workouts accordingly. Pollen counts tend to peak between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., he says, so avoiding this time can reduce symptoms by up to 50%. If your nose is running all the time, you may have non-allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis, or a virus, says Schaffer. To pinpoint the cause, ask your physician about having a simple skin-prick test done. If your symptoms are not allergy related, prescription medications such as nasal ipratropium bromide or nasal azelastine can help.
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