|
Don't Let Allergies Ruin Your Christmas |
 Christmas is one of the most treasured times of year especially if you have children. And one part of the Christmas tradition that continues to hold tremendous value for many families is when you bring that Christmas tree in to decorate it with your favorite ornaments. The smell of that fresh tree and the glow of the lights is one of the traditions of Christmas that most often puts us in the Christmas spirit. And the fun of watching the children rush out to the Christmas tree on Christmas morning to tear into their gifts is a fun family moment that nobody would ever miss.
But for some families, that pine tree that is a treasured Christmas tradition is also a source of allergy symptoms that can make a member of the family feel very badly. Allergies caused by pine trees are not entirely uncommon and they can come up even after you have been enjoying cut Christmas trees for years. But when the symptoms of an allergy to the Christmas tree begins to surface around the holiday, despite how beloved the tradition of the Christmas tree is, you must change the tradition rather than allow a family member to suffer.
One possible cause of an allergic reaction to a Christmas tree may be something besides the tree itself. If the allergic symptom doesn’t come up right away when you put up the tree, it could be the tree isn't causing the unpleasant allergic symptoms. Many times the real culprit is a mold that grows on the tree as it decomposes in your home. If that is the case, the symptoms may not surface until the tree has been in the home for a couple of weeks.
If the Christmas tree allergy is a mold allergy, there are a couple of solutions. One solution is to buy an additive to put in the water you give to a cut tree that will reduce the incidence of mold as the tree spends the Christmas season with you. Another precaution is to make sure the tree you bring home is quite fresh.
If you buy a Christmas tree at the grocery store or even at a Christmas tree lot, that tree may have been cut weeks before you bought it. But by going to a Christmas tree farm where you can cut the tree yourself, you will know it is very fresh and the arrival of that mold will be delayed, perhaps until after the holiday is over.
Of course, the third solution is also evident and that is to put up your Christmas tree later in the season so it doesn’t stay in the house that long. Then if you take it down on December 26th, you can enjoy the wonderful tradition and still move that tree out of the home before it can set off any allergy symptoms.
Perhaps the solution that is most obvious is one that many families resist because it seems to hurt the natural feel of having a cut Christmas tree in the house. That is to take the big step of buying a "fake" Christmas tree, which is not cut and not discarded when Christmas is over. This step will eliminate any allergy problems due to the presence of a live tree in the home once and for all.
But for many families, a manufactured Christmas tree is not the same. One way to try to get around the problem is to buy a tree that looks very realistic. If you make a bit of an investment in the manufactured tree, you really won't be able to tell the difference. And while that means spending a little more money, if you can use that tree over and over for many Christmas seasons, you will save money not buying a cut tree and throwing it away each year.
You can also recreate the feel of having a real Christmas tree in the home by burning candles that have that pine smell that we love. A couple hours a day burning pine candles can give the home a nice Christmas smell so that the manufactured nature of the tree is easily forgotten. And when mom and dad realize they don’t have to worry about cleaning up needles off of the floor and that a manufactured tree means not cutting down a living tree, which is better for the environment, that may help make the change less troublesome.
|