With trees blossoming and bees pollinating and spreading particles of pollen around, the start of spring allergies is commencing, contributing to the allergic responses people are beginning to experience.
According to doctor and pediatrician Diana Kudes, spring allergies are caused by people being “sensitive to mostly trees,” and more specifically from the “pollen that comes from trees.”
“In the spring we all want to go outside because we’re cooped up all winter, and being outside causes a lot of exposure,” Kudes said.
Pollen is a large factor in what makes these allergies so severe.
“The sheer amount of pollen at times is just so much more intense than some of the other [seasons],” Kudes said, “and it’s really hard to avoid them.”
Kudes believes that the allergies could become worse with the warmer temperatures.
“Especially when it’s dry, the allergies stay in the air,” Kudes said.
According to freshman Haley Lafredo, if she goes outside at all, the pollen will stick with her and keep her feeling sick for a while.
One way to avoid the pollen is “to take a shower and rinse all of that pollen off of you,” Kudes said.
Another way is to keep your windows up when driving in the car.
“Don’t roll them down,” Kudes said, “because when you’re out, it just picks up a lot of air and a lot of the pollen.”
Symptoms of spring allergies can include a runny or stuffy nose, itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing, as well as a sore throat.
“Usually [I have] sore throat, coughs, sometimes I get a stuffy nose and a runny nose,” junior Rose Waldron said.
Junior Nate Bucher believes that he will get “itchy eyes and a stuffy nose” from the allergies.
As per Kudes, the best thing to get rid of your allergies is to start using “your allergy medicines before allergies get bad.”
“I [have been getting] allergy shots for them since I was six,” Lafredo said.
Allergy shots are just one of the many ways to prevent allergies, others include over-the-counter solutions.
“Usually I take allergy medicine,” Waldron said. “The 24 hour stuff.”
According to Kudes, now is the time to start a medicine before “you get miserable.”
Spring allergies have varying effects depending on the person.
For Bucher, his allergies are not too severe.
“It’s not like a cold,” Bucher said. “It’s just that sometimes I can’t breathe perfectly through my nose.”
On the other hand, Lafredo feels that on a scale from one to 10, she would rate her allergies a seven or an eight.
“I probably would rate them a little higher because it kind of causes me to be sick more often,” Lafredo said.
According to Lafredo, she has to take off from school sometimes because her allergies are so strong.
“Allergies make people uncomfortable,” Kudes said, “so they don’t sleep as well, and when we don’t sleep as well, you’re not able to concentrate at school as much.”
According to Kudes, spring seems to be the worst season for those affected by allergies.
“I guess a combination of the intensity of the allergens and it’s in the air, so it spreads easily with the pollen allergy,” Kudes said. “I think mixed with the fact that people like to be outside in spring with the warming temperatures.”
Spring allergies could also lead to worse conditions such as asthma.