How to reduce allergy triggers in your vehicle

What causes an allergic reaction?

Every great battle has two sides facing off against one another to lay claim to new territory or maintain a hold on the territory they already have. Is this an enemy you’re familiar with…or is this some new terror that intends to lay waste and stay a while.

In this war, your body is the contested territory with the many pathogens, whether virus, bacteria, or parasite, trying to overcome our white blood cells that are trained to defend their territory. When these defenders of the body encounter a new enemy, and slay a few of them, they keep a part of them to study. This first encounter is known as the primary response which is often slow, unspecific, and doesn’t produce a large number of defenders. This changes once the body has studied the enemy part known as an antigen, at which point it produces specific antibodies to that component.

When the pathogen invades again, the body recognizes the enemy and mounts a rapid and specific response. A greater number of troops have also been trained to specifically deal with this enemy and this is therefore known as the secondary response which has a few outcomes. We may avoid the illness altogether or fall sick for a shorter period of time or at least have less severe symptoms.

In some cases, the body incorrectly identifies certain foods or harmless environmental elements such as dust or pollen as being a severe threat to the body. The white blood cells wrongly train the body to defend against them resulting in an allergic reaction.

What are the symptoms?

The range of symptoms varies for every individual from the incredibly mild to pushing someone into anaphylactic shock.

You may start to notice a bit of a runny nose which progresses into sniffling and stuffed sinuses.

As the reaction progresses, the throat gets itchier and the individual may start wheezing as the airway narrows.

The release of chemicals in response to the allergen can become so prominent that it starts to affect vital functions of the body in a severe form of the reaction known as anaphylaxis.

The skin starts to swell, especially around the mouth and/or eyes, hives begin to form, you may experience vomiting, and become pale and weak, possibly fainting.

This swelling can quickly turn fatal as the airways begin to close and must be treated as a medical emergency, potentially requiring the use of an auto-injector containing epinephrine.

What are some of the hiding spots in my car for those sneaky bugs?

The bugs can enter the vehicle from the environment when the windows are open. As Canadians, this is common during the summer months when the windows are down, wind blowing through your hair, with new pathogens finding homes on your body and in your body as you inhale the warm wind. It’s easy for allergens to become embedded in fabric whether it’s your seats or the mats.

Fabric can be tricky for another reason as it tends to hold onto liquid spills which can turn into mold with time.

Finally, a simple weekly wipe down of the common surfaces of the vehicle such as the steering wheel, handles, gear shift, and dashboard can protect all members of the family.

What do you suggest if I should avoid having the windows down?

A solution includes opting for the air conditioner instead which pulls the outside air through the cabin air filter, cleaning it as it enters the vehicle. After becoming cool, another option includes flipping the a/c into recirculating mode where it reuses the filtered air already inside the cabin. A review as recent as this year has demonstrated that having the fan on and recirculation mode activated provided the safest vehicle air environment. One study demonstrated that engaging the air conditioning decreased microorganisms by 81.7% and air particles by 83.3% within minutes.

I can’t exactly wave a magic wand to change my fabric seats to leather…so what can I do instead?

Changing out the floor mats to rubber or plastic is one way to avoid your child’s spilled juice seeping into the fabric. If the liquid goes elsewhere, then it’s important to clean it up as quickly as possible. A warm vehicle is the perfect breeding ground for molds which can release spores that cause an allergic reaction in those susceptible. Engaging the air conditioning can reduce mold spores by 87.8%. It’s also important to allow a new car to air out as the fabrics release volatile organic compounds which can be extremely irritating to the respiratory system. These levels can increase by 40% in the vehicle during the warmer weather.

Are there any other ways I can avoid allergy symptoms in the vehicle?

If you’ve tried all of these and still have that annoying itch, products such as the homeopathic remedy Allergy Relief can help eliminate the allergens that overload the immune system. An in-house study demonstrated a self-reported improvement in allergy symptoms in 88.5% of participants taking the product.