How beards can help with allergies

SAN ANTONIO – Allergies got you down? An ear, nose and throat doctor says believe it or not, a beard could help.

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"The beard can actually serve as a barrier,” Dr. Michael Moore, with Texas ENT, told Houston's KPRC. “It can filter out allergic triggers such as the ragweed, mold, dust, animal dander and much more in the Houston air and that barrier can prevent those allergens from entering the body.”

The larger the beard, he said, the better it acts as a filter and can help to build a tolerance to your allergies.

“It keeps those allergens in close proximity to the nose and mouth and so those allergens can get slowly released over time and you can get exposed to an incremental amount of that in the body and can actually build up immunity from that slow-release. That can help, if you're exposed to larger amounts, from having an allergic reaction,” Moore said.

He said the key is to keep it clean and well-groomed.

To learn more about other allergy treatments, click here.