Although opening a window might provide temporary relief from the heat, it can cause allergy sufferers to have stuffy noses, itchy eyes and sneezing throughout the night. By sleeping with a window open, you re inviting every type of pollen into the home. Since pollination may occur at all hours of the night, if you have hay fever and other allergies, close your home and use an air conditioner to filter allergens.
Fans can add to the problem by keeping allergens suspended and circulating through the air.
If windows need to be open, an antihistamine or decongestant can be taken but only after talking to a physician. Keeping windows closed is not always an allergy-free solution. You could still wake up stuffy with allergy symptoms. Exposure to pollen and allergens during the day causes symptoms at the time, but it s not unusual for symptoms to occur again 6 to 8 hours later. Late-phase response is a reaction to an allergen from earlier that day.