Spring Hay Fever 101

It’s that time of year again! The weather is warm, the days are longer, and allergy season is upon us. Do stuffed up noses, itchy eyes, and sneezing fits plaque you and your family? Congratulations, you are in growing population of allergy sufferers!  The highest East Bay tree and grass pollen counts are present Mid-March through Mid-June.  In general the pollen season kicks off with Alder and Cedar/Juniper tree pollination in early March, evolves to Ash, Oak, Sycamore, Mulberry and Maple tree pollination in later March-mid April. The season finishes off with the granddaddies of them all, grass and olive tree pollen, mid-April through early June.

You don’t need to live in a bubble during this time of year but you do need to take some precautions. First of all, this may not be the time to plan an outdoor camping trip where long periods of outdoor exposure will occur.  If you do spend time outdoors, be sure to shower and wash your hair before going to bed and wear sunglasses to keep pollen directly out of the eyes. Keep your windows closed during this time of year and turn on that air filter. This is also the time when you will want to keep your car air conditioner on instead of rolling down the windows. Finally, you can use over the counter nasal saline sprays and rinses to help remove any pollen on the inside lining of the nose. Children under the age of 5 will not be able to tolerate the rinsing, but will be more comfortable with the saline spray.

This is also the time of year when you may need to pull out those allergy meds. See your next posting for more info on this.