March allergens: Seasonal Allergies: A Month-by-Month Guide

29.06.202313.06.2023 by alexxlab

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Seasonal Allergies: A Month-by-Month Guide

ENT & Allergy Specialists of Northwest Ohio

Seasonal allergies often get lumped into one category. However, each season has its own unique allergens. Follow the guide below to see which months you can expect to see a flare up of which allergens.

Spring: February – May

For spring allergy sufferers, the joys of warmer weather, birds chirping and flowers blooming come at a price. Bothersome nose and eye symptoms, breathing difficulties and skin allergies can set in as trees begin to pollinate. Tree pollen season occurs between February and May in Ohio. Season length and timing varies each year depending on weather. In 2019 for example, due to a long, harsh winter, trees did not begin pollinating until March. Because pollen is microscopic, we cannot see it in the air and often do not know when the season has started until symptoms begin.

A common myth regarding spring allergies is that because symptoms often start in correlation with blooming flowers, the flower pollens contribute to the problem. Our allergies are due to plants that spread pollen by wind (anemophilous plants), which is how the pollen enters our eyes, noses, mouths or skin. These plants are not showy or eye-catching because they do not need to be. The plants we typically notice are usually flowering plants that are pretty for the purpose of catching the attention of pollinators like bees and other insects. These plant pollens are spread from plant to plant by the insects that visit them (entomophilous plants). For this reason, most of our pollen exposure is due to pollen in the air outdoors, and thus our allergies are to wind-pollinated plants.

Many trees are primarily pollinated by wind, and tree pollens are the main springtime allergen. Mold spores also contribute to spring allergies but are most bothersome in the fall. Common trees in the northwest Ohio region that contribute to allergy symptoms include oak, cottonwood, birch, maple, sycamore, ash, elm, hickory, walnut, beech and mulberry. There is limited cross-reactivity between tree pollens. This means that while some trees are related and pollens are somewhat similar, many tree pollens have unique features that prevent the ability to create a single treatment for tree pollen allergy. Allergists are specially trained physicians who can test patients to multiple different tree pollens and treat each patient uniquely for their specific tree pollen allergies.

Summer: May – June

Late spring and early summer allergies mainly involve grass pollen. In the allergy world, we often think of Memorial Day as a reminder of peak grass pollen season. Northern pasture grasses like June/Kentucky Blue, Timothy, Orchard and Rye are commonly grown in the Midwest. They begin pollinating in May, peak toward the end of the month and carry through the first few weeks of June.

July Hiatus

Even allergies take a vacation. Hot, dry July weather tends to give a short reprieve for pan-pollen allergic patients (those allergic to tree, grass and weed pollens). Trees and grasses are no longer pollinating. Without rain, mold spore counts are often low and fall plants have not yet begun the pollination process.

Fall: August – November

Back-to-school time often marks the onset of weed pollination and resurgence of allergy symptoms. The term “hay fever” is often used to describe these symptoms and is derived from the “illness” that farmers used to obtain when harvesting hay in the fall. With the discovery of pollen allergies, it was recognized that fall symptoms were due to ragweed pollen rather than due to hay exposure. August 15 is endearingly referred to amongst allergists as the start of ragweed season. Other common weed plants that produce pollen allergens include English plantain, lamb’s quarter, pigweed, Russian thistle, yellow dock, sorrel, firebush, cocklebur and marsh elder.

Mold spore counts tend to rise dramatically in the fall with falling leaves and dying plants. Molds thrive in the decomposing plant matter and their spores float into the air. Gardening in mulch or dirt, farming or hiking in the woods can also increase exposures to mold spores this time of year.

Winter: December – January

While this article primarily focuses on pollen season, the only “seasonal” allergen we encounter during winter in the Midwest is mold. Mold grows best above freezing temperatures and when it is damp, such as after rainfall. During warm periods of winter, mold spore counts can temporarily spike, which can be confusing for mold allergic patients that may not be expecting an allergy flare during winter months.

For seasonal allergy sufferers, it is important to meet with a board-certified allergist to identify which allergens are most bothersome and to allow for more focused attention on avoidance measures and treatment options.

Ragweed Pollen Allergy | AAFA.org

In the late summer, about 15% of Americans have symptoms from an allergy to ragweed pollen.¹ The symptoms can make life miserable for those with allergies. This allergy can also cause asthma symptoms for people with allergic asthma.

Pollen Seasons in the U.S.

February – May: Trees (some start as early as January)

April – June: Grasses

August − November: Weeds

You may feel uncomfortable when ragweed plants release pollen into the air. Your symptoms may continue until the first frost kills the plant. Depending on your location, ragweed season may last six to 10 weeks. In most areas in the U.S., it peaks in mid-September.

What Is Ragweed?

Ragweed is a weed that grows throughout the United States, especially in the Eastern and Midwestern states. Each plant lives only one season. But that one plant can produce up to 1 billion pollen grains.

When mid-August nights grow longer, ragweed flowers mature and release pollen. Warm weather, humidity and breezes after sunrise help release the pollen. The pollen then travels through the air to another plant to fertilize the seed so a new plant can grow next year.

Ragweed usually grows in rural areas. Near the plants, the pollen counts are highest right after dawn. Rain and morning temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit slow down the release of pollen.

Ragweed pollen can travel far. It has been found in the air 400 miles out to sea and two miles up in the atmosphere. But most falls close to its source.

Turf grasses and other perennial plants easily overgrow ragweed. But where streams of water, farming or chemicals upset the soil – like salting roads in the winter – ragweed will grow. It is often found along roadsides, riverbanks, in vacant lots and fields. Dormant seeds that live in the soil for decades may grow when the conditions are right.

What Is a Ragweed Pollen Allergy?

The job of your immune system is to find foreign substances, like viruses and bacteria, and get rid of them. This response normally protects us from harmful diseases. People with allergies have immune systems that react when they come in contact with allergens. When you are allergic to ragweed pollen and inhale it from the air, rhinitis (hay fever) symptoms show up.

Seventeen types of ragweed grow in North America. Ragweed also belongs to a larger family of plants that can spread pollen by wind. These plants can also cause symptoms.

Members of this plant family include:

Sage
Burweed marsh elder
Rabbit brush
Mugwort
Groundsel bush
Eupatorium

Some family members spread their pollen by insects instead of by wind. They cause fewer allergic reactions. But sniffing these plants can cause symptoms.

Who Gets a Ragweed Allergy?

Seventy-five percent of people who are allergic to pollen are also allergic to ragweed. If you have allergies to one type of pollen, you tend to develop allergies to other types of pollen as well.

If you have a ragweed allergy, you may also get symptoms when you eat these foods:

Banana
Cantaloupe
Cucumber
Honeydew
Watermelon
White potato
Zucchini
Sunflower seeds

This is called oral allergy syndrome (OAS). OAS occurs because your immune system confuses ragweed pollen with certain foods. Common OAS symptoms include itchy mouth, throat, tongue or face.

What Are the Symptoms?

Rhinitis symptoms often include:

Sneezing
Stuffy or runny nose
Itchy eyes, nose and throat
Itchy or puffy eyes
Mucus in the throat (postnasal drip)

If you have severe allergies, ragweed might trigger asthma symptoms, chronic sinusitis, headaches and congestion that can interfere with sleep.

How Is It Diagnosed?

If you think you are allergic to ragweed pollen, see a board-certified allergist. They will ask you about your medical history, do a physical exam and allergy testing. They may do a skin prick test to confirm your allergy.

For prick/scratch testing, the doctor or nurse places a small drop containing ragweed pollen on your skin. They will then lightly prick or scratch your skin with a needle through the drop. If you are sensitive to ragweed, you will develop redness, swelling and itching at the test site within 15 minutes. Sometimes your doctor may take a blood test to see if you have the antibody to ragweed.

What Can I Do About It?

There is no cure for a ragweed pollen allergy. But there are ways to treat and manage it.

Track the pollen count for your area. The news media often reports the count for your area, especially when pollen is high. You also can get your area’s pollen counts from the National Allergy Bureau.

Stay indoors in central air conditioning when the pollen count is high. Get a CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® air filter for your air conditioner. If you do spend time outside, try to go out in the afternoons and evenings. Ragweed pollen peaks in mornings.

Prevent pollen from being tracked into your home. If you spend a lot of time outside during peak pollen time:

Take your shoes off outside
Don’t wear your “outside” clothes to bed
Cover your hair when outside or wash it at night

You might even consider moving to get away from ragweed. This will often help you feel better for a short time. But you can develop allergies to plants in your new location in a few years. And ragweed is found in every state except Alaska. A well-thought out treatment plan is a better way to live with your allergies.

Take anti-inflammatory or antihistamine medicines, and start treatment in the summer. Many over-the-counter medicines work well to control pollen allergy symptoms. They can also help eye, nose and asthma symptoms. Many newer antihistamines don’t cause as much drowsiness as older ones.

Anti-inflammatory and antihistamine nose sprays also help and have few side effects. You can also find eye drops for eye symptoms. Leukotriene inhibitors can help by blocking chemicals your body releases when you have an allergic reaction.

For long-term relief, see an allergist about immunotherapy. This type of treatment can reduce the allergic response to specific allergens. There are two types: allergy shots and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).

Allergy shots involve giving injections of allergens in an increasing dose over time. They relieve symptoms for most people and can last for years to decades.

With SLIT, you take a small dose of an allergen under your tongue. You also gradually become more sensitive.

If you have allergic asthma, your Asthma Action Plan may include some of these allergy treatments to help you keep your asthma under control.

With the right treatment plan, you should see major improvements in your symptoms.

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