Deciding to implement allergen avoidance routines makes a huge difference in many allergy sufferers' lives. Certain measures are no-brainers: using allergy relief bedding, keeping pets out of the bedroom, putting air purifiers in bedrooms, and using a HEPA vacuum cleaner. However, other environmental control measures require careful, weighed consideration so that the measures themselves don't become issues.

The holiday season makes these difficult-to-navigate issues especially apparent. Below are some allergy conundrums that come up this time of year:

What kind of Christmas tree?
Recently, we discussed the presence of lead on artificial Christmas trees. No amount of lead exposure is safe for children or animals, and lead often ends up in household dust. Furthermore, artificial trees tend to harbor dust and other allergens. For these reasons, choosing a real tree seems like the best option.

However, some individuals are allergic to fresh trees. CNN highlights this point in On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and