Allergy season may be worse this spring, thanks to another mild and dry winter

Spring brings many benefits, but one significant drawback for many neighbors is the onset of allergy season. We are heading out of yet another mild and dry winter, which can lead to a worse allergy season overall.
 
It begins in the fall, as Dr. Linda B. Ford of the Asthma and Allergy Center explains, “What used to be an early freeze or frost that would happen in September or October doesn’t happen until December. That way, weeds continue to pollinate”
 
And continues through the winter, “we have a january thaw, we get all muddy, it would freeze again, it would snow in march and april, but we haven’t been having that…we used to get very low levels and it would take a long time to get to moderate levels…now its high in may, it’s really different”
 
And we are now seeing it’s effects. According to the asthma and allergy center’s pollen count, the tree pollen count is high. This is about a week earlier than last year.
 
Alongside the warm and dry conditions, the wind we have seen only serves to worsen symptoms, explains Ford, “the wind worsens allergy season a lot when you are talking about wind pollinating plants…as you get the wind, particularly as the wind gets in these gusts we’ve been having, it spreads that pollen all around.”
 
Outside of medications, the center recommends limiting exposure to allergens as much as possible. That would mean showering and changing clothes when you get home, keeping windows closed, and cleaning your home often during the peak of the season.