Vitals

Indoors.

Closed windows.

Air-conditioning.

High efficiency particle air filters running.

That’s beat-the-heat advice from Santa Monica allergist Dr. Bernard Geller to those who suffer from pollen allergies and asthma.

Says Geller: “I tell people when they have to go out and about to get in their cars, put the air-conditioning on and use the recirculator. I don’t have my patients go out and exercise in this weather.”

He also tells them to leave the house only on essential errands, and to wash their hands and face when they get home, so as not to rub pollen in their eyes.

He strongly recommends for the most-used rooms of the house an air filtering device.

Recently, Geller says, he’s been seeing a number of patients whose allergies had been under control for years. He places some of the blame on El Nino, which spurred overgrowth in the hills. “During hot weather those plants dry out, and we tend to get a lot of airborne pollen,” he says.