Five not-so-typical ways to fight your allergies

Allergy season is here and it's not pretty.

While most people are eager to take advantage of the warmer spring weather, allergy sufferers, more than 26 million Americans know there's an invisible danger that lurks outside waiting to attack: your friendly neighborhood pollen here to ruin your day. 

Allergy medicines and nasal rinses seem to be the go-to for dealing with allergies, but there are other not-so-common precautions people can take to deal with their symptoms. Here are five different ways you can combat your allergy symptoms so they don't ruin your fun.

Take a shower

Showering may already be a part of your daily routine, but allergists recommend you ramp it up a bit. 

Jyothi Gadde, an allergist-immunologist at Allergy & Asthma Specialists of Greater Washington, says you should take a shower a couple of times a day and change into fresh clothes so that the pollen is washed off your skin and hair. Michael Blaiss, the executive medical director at the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, adds that at least a shower before you turn in for the night means you're not dragging any pollen into your bed or sleeping with any pollen on you.

More:These horrifying pollen clouds remind us it's allergy season

Though washing your hair every day may not be possible for certain people, at least getting the pollen off your skin can help. 

Wash your face

Although a full shower is recommended by allergists to completely remove the pollen off your body, carrying around a wet wipe can help too.

Going over your face and exposed body parts with a cleansing wipe will remove at least some of the allergens. Wiping your face is also helpful because you’re "wiping [the pollen] off," Gadde says. She recommends washing your face to get rid of more of the allergens and rinsing your nose with a saline solution. Since it filters all of the air you're breathing, there will be a lot of pollen in your nose that you'll want to get rid of. 

Stay hydrated

Mia Strazzeri, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at AtlantiCare Physician Group in Somers Point, N.J., says that dehydration enhances allergy symptoms, and drinking more water and staying hydrated will help to reduce your symptoms.

Strazzeri also recommends drinking green and ginger tea as they help "reduce mast cell production," which is responsible for allergic reactions. She says those teas can lessen allergy flare ups. 

Don't open windows

If you could just stay indoors and never leave the safety of your home during allergy season, all would be well. Since that's not the case, experts suggest safeguarding your home and car from unwanted pollen by leaving windows closed and rolled up.

"The weather is so nice and everyone wants to go outside and open up the windows and let their house air out, but those things are bad," Blaiss says. "So the bottom line is keep the windows to the house and car closed so the pollen doesn’t come in."

Strazzeri also recommends getting a dehumidifier, which can clean the air in your home from pollen and allergens. 

Take advantage of the rain

While sunny skies practically beg you to frolic outside, Gadde encourages people to go outside when it's raining or shortly after it has rained. 

"When it rains, the pollen washes off so we wish for rain," Gadde says. "If it’s a rainy day, it’s generally safer to go outside."

Blaiss suggests avoiding going outside in the early morning and at dusk as pollen levels are generally higher then.