If you know you have allergies, but don't want to load up on medications, then it's worth doing everything you can to avoid allergens, those substances that trigger your allergy attacks.

Pollens, pets, dust, molds and tiny insects are some of the more common allergens, but specific details vary for each person with allergies. Paying attention to when and where you have symptoms can provide you with many clues, and can help you develop some prevention strategies.

Here are some tips to help you avoid your triggers and allergy-proof your home:

• Stay indoors. If your allergies are worse when you're outside, then you may find it necessary to spend most of your time indoors for a while. This is, of course, easiest to do if your allergies only last for a few weeks every year.
  
  
• Clean out air ducts. Many allergens get trapped and removed from the air as it cycles through the components of the heating and cooling systems. Cockroach droppings; mold; weed, grass, and tree pollens, as well as a host of other allergens, can accumulate in a forced-air heating/cooling system. Keeping these ducts clean is often a critical first step.
  
  
• Install high-quality air filters. Top-quality filters, both in a forced-air heating/cooling system, as well as in separate air-purifying devices and vacuum cleaners, can make a huge difference to sensitive allergy sufferers.
  
  
• Keep flooring dust-free. Hardwood flooring is much easier to clean than carpet, and so keeps allergens to a minimum. If you can't or won't remove your carpets, professional deep cleaning is the next best choice.
  
  
• Inspect for mold and mildew. This is often a hidden cause of allergic symptoms. Basements are the easiest and most likely places to check for moisture, mold, or mildew. But don't forget that roofs and attics can leak and walls can become wet. Sometimes serious detective work is needed to locate the source of a mold problem.
  
  
• Use hypoallergenic bedding. Special pillows, mattresses, and sheets made from materials that reduce exposure to allergens generally cost more than the standard variety; however, they may be well worth the price. Here's something to try: Notice if you feel much better when you sleep away from home, or when you borrow someone else's hypoallergenic sheets. If so, spend a bit extra on yourself and invest in some hypoallergenic bedding.
  
  
• Avoid pets. This is probably the simplest and most obvious advice. However, it can also be the most difficult to follow if you (or your family) already have an adored pet. For many people, pets are part of the family and can't just be shown the door. If you're allergic to your pet, I'm sorry to say there are no easy solutions to your problem. A few things that might help are to wash your hands after touching your pet, avoid getting your face too close to him or her, and keep animals strictly out of your bedroom.
  
  
• Consider allergy testing and shots. Occasionally, testing to determine someone's specific allergens can be useful. The simplest case would be if the patient turns out to have only a few triggers and is able to avoid them. More commonly, however, a person is sensitive to multiple allergens, or else the offending substances cannot be removed from the environment. In such cases, some people choose to get weekly shots that gradually reduce their allergic response. But allergy shots may take several years to start working, and even then there's no guarantee that your allergic symptoms will disappear. Consult an allergy specialist if you think you might want to pursue this type of treatment.