Fall Allergies Sticking Around through Dry Weather

Spring is usually the season associated with seasonal allergies, but doctors say they can affect people whenever the seasons change, including the fall.

People affected by fall allergies might think they have a cold at first. The symptoms are similar: runny or stuffy noses, watery or itchy eyes, and sore throats among other things. These symptoms, however, are caused by new fall plants blooming and the pollen settling on homes and cars.

“Well, it’s an over production of pollen,” says Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner Sheena Buckelew. She says the extremely dry conditions in the state aren’t helping those suffering from allergies.

“We don’t have any rain to wash the pollen away,” she adds. “So it’s sitting there in the air, people are mowing their lawns and stirring it up. So it’s all in the environment right now.”

Buckelew says she’s seen dozens of people coming into her office with the symptoms of seasonal allergies, thinking they have a cold, and mistreating themselves. She advises anyone suffereing from allergy symptoms to make an appointment with their doctor and get checked out.

If you know your symptoms are related to allergies, but don’t want to use a daily medication as treatment, there are non-medicinal options available too.

“Wash their car, change their air filters once a month, wipe the pets down when they’re coming in from outside because they’re bringing the allergens inside the home with the pollen on them as well,” suggests Buckelew.