Most people welcome spring and the return of warm days, colorful flowers and green grass. But millions of folks with allergies look to the growing season with a sense of dread. Spring means pollen, and lots of it. For many, that leads to itchy eyes, runny noses, coughs and other not-so-welcome symptoms.

Outdoor allergies are triggered by grass, trees, weeds and mold. If you’re allergic to one of these, your body reacts to the microscopic pollen or mold invaders as it would to a cold germ — and you get those familiar cold-like symptoms. Antihistamines and decongestants do the trick for most people, but if your symptoms are relatively mild, you may be able to treat your allergies the natural way.

For example, try boosting your intake of vitamin C and B5, both of which act as an antihistamine. (Histamines make your blood vessels swell and produce fluid — the culprit behind the itching, sneezing and congestion.) Fish oil has also been found to reduce asthma caused by allergies. It may sound unappealing, but some people swear by the Neti pot. It looks like a teapot, but you use it to pour a saltwater solution through your nose to flush out debris and toxins. Also, keep windows and doors closed to prevent pollen from getting inside. Avoid going outside on dry, windy days, when pollen is worse.

If mold is your problem, lower the humidity in your home to 40 percent or less to inhibit mold growth. A fan can help, but for really moist areas, you’ll need a dehumidifier. An air purifier with a HEPA filter can work wonders in reducing coughing and breathing problems. Put it in your bedroom, where you probably spend the most time.

If you’re not plagued by allergies and can enjoy spring in all its glory, consider yourself lucky. But don’t get cocky. Allergies can develop at any age.

Photo credit: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

When Trace Adkins battles in the boardroom on Celebrity Apprentice this January, he’ll be fighting for a cause close to his heart. Should he win, the towering country talent will donate the $250,000 prize to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). And just by appearing on the show, he hopes to raise awareness of the growing numbers of people, especially children, with food allergies — like his 6-year-old daughter, Brianna.
 
“My little girl is cursed with severe food allergies. She’s allergic to all nuts, all dairy and eggs,” says Adkins. “It’s something we deal with and have to be vigilant about on a daily basis. We have to keep the Benadryl, the Epi-pen, all that stuff.
 
“It’s heartbreaking,” he continues. “My wife and I are brought to tears regularly because Brianna can’t go to her little friends’ birthday parties and have cake and ice cream and everything that they get to have. We can’t really go out and have a meal anymore, because people at restaurants just aren’t aware enough of the severity of it and what it takes to cause a reaction. They don’t understand that if a surface was used to prepare something that had dairy in it, no matter how well you clean that surface, those proteins are still there. And if you prepare my daughter’s food there, she’s going to have a reaction.
 
“There are three million school-age kids and 12 million people overall in this country today who have severe food allergies. It’s deadly. It can kill people,” Adkins says. “So I’m just trying to raise awareness of the extent of this problem.”
 
Theories abound on why food allergies are on the rise. One component could be the preservatives used in vaccines. Others point to the widespread use of household disinfectants that keep children in a practically germ-free zone, preventing their immune systems from developing properly. Increasing nut allergies could be due to preparation: Most Americans eat nuts that have been roasted at high temperatures which could possibly release more of the allergen in the nut.
 
Those and many other theories are being investigated, and Adkins hopes more widespread awareness of the problem will lead to some answers. “There’s something we’re doing that’s causing this,” says Adkins. “Whether it’s environmental or something else, I don’t know, but when I was a kid, I didn’t know anyone with food allergies. Nowadays it’s so much more common.”