How to Turn Your Car into a Haven Against Spring Allergies

Spring, with its burst of life and colour, also brings an unwelcome guest: allergies. These bothersome travel companions can significantly affect driving, endangering our safety and that of others.

The rains of last March, which broke all known rainfall records, have brought us significant advantages such as not having to worry about drought for a while. However, this new meteorological extravagance has yet to show all its consequences, as experts predict that this spring will see such an intense bloom that it will be remembered for years by those allergic to pollen.

Sneezing, watery eyes, nasal congestion, and drowsiness are some of the allergy symptoms that can severely impact driving. For instance, a sneeze can last several seconds, during which we take our eyes off the road. At high speeds, this can mean covering dozens of metres without vehicle control.

Blurred vision and the need to rub one's eyes make it difficult to perceive dangers and react appropriately in emergency situations. Difficulty breathing and the constant need to blow one's nose distract the driver and reduce concentration. Moreover, some antihistamines, common medications for treating allergies, can cause drowsiness, reducing reflexes and reaction capacity.

Therefore, specialists at Alquiber offer some recommendations to help protect our vehicles from pollen, thus avoiding both its bothersome symptoms, which can even incapacitate driving, and the side effects of treatments, which can compromise safety at the wheel.

Just as the air filter and oil filter are fundamental protections for the engine's proper functioning, the pollen filter or cabin filter, which protects us from suspended particles that the car absorbs during our journeys, is an essential protective barrier for those suffering from pollen allergies. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure it is in perfect condition before this spring faces its toughest job. If not, it will need to be replaced. Your vehicle manufacturer's specifications will indicate when it should be changed, although generally, it should be done every 15,000 to 30,000 kilometres, or at least once a year.

However, with the air so full of particles, Alquiber experts also recommend wisely using air recirculation. When we turn on the air conditioning, heating, or fan in our vehicle, the air is drawn from outside and redirected, passing through the filters, into the cabin. But when we activate the recirculation button, we choose to close off the outside air access, and the air used for ventilation is the one already present in the cabin. This will be reabsorbed and pass through the system and filters again to be expelled.

With this action, we will achieve several benefits, such as preventing pollen particles from entering in areas of high concentration, avoiding dirty air in a traffic jam, when passing through a busy tunnel, or near a refinery or an area with dust suspended in the air, among many other examples. In short, air recycling will be very useful when the outside air is full of pollen, highly polluted, smells bad, or has a lot of dust.

By pressing this button, which most cars have, regardless of whether they have air conditioning or not, we will not only achieve a much more comfortable journey but also protect our health, as filters sometimes cannot retain all the particles we do not want to reach our lungs.

However, it is important to note that air recycling should be used sparingly and only in cases like those mentioned above, as recycled air not only tends to fog up the windows but also causes drowsiness, one of the worst enemies at the wheel.