Allergy Tips for Every Season
Don't Let Symptoms Prevent You from Enjoying the Weather
-- By Leanne Beattie, Health & Fitness Writer
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Spring Allergy Tips
Most spring allergies are related to pollen—powdery grains that are carried by wind or insects and are necessary for plant reproduction. Flowering plants and trees, such as the oak, elm, birch, ash, hickory, poplar, maple and walnut, start pollinating between January and April, depending on their location. When pollen is in the air, it can land in the eyes, nose, lungs or skin of a sensitive person and cause itchy, watery eyes, runny nose, coughing and other breathing difficulties.
Pollen allergy symptoms are often minimal on rainy, windless days because pollen does not move much during those conditions. Hot, dry, and windy weather brings more pollen into the air and results in more allergy symptoms. In the United States, pollen season typically runs from March until October, but it can begin as early as January in southern states.
