How Weather Affects Your Allergies

Weather affects us every day.

From how we dress to what we do outside, to how we live with seasonal allergies.

Sometimes gorgeous weather causes the sneezes and the sniffles.

And there are lots of different ways that weather can affect allergies but it all depends on what you’re allergic to.

“In dry, hot, windy conditions, if you’re allergic to pollens, you tend to have more troubles because the pollens, stay in the air longer and may affect you more,” says Allergist Dr. Chris Cleveland.

Humid conditions are a bit different.

When it’s muggy out, mold spores can grow, and that can bother people who work outside or on the farm.

Mold, grass, tree, and ragweed pollens can cause typical hay–fever symptoms.

“Itchy, red, watery eyes, runny noses, sometimes their ears or their pallet will itch as well,” explains Cleveland.

Those hay fever symptoms can be caused by tree pollens in the spring time

With the summer months coming to a close, grass pollens are on their way down, but weeds like this, ragweed, are starting to ramp up in the fall.

Allergy symptoms related to ragweed should end when the plant dies right after the first frost, usually in mid–October.

Other common outdoor allergies include bee stings, especially if you’re near sweet–smelling flowers, and pet dander being carried by the wind.

But before those allergies start bogging you down, how can they be prevented?

“It’s difficult to prevent getting hay–fever type allergies, but a good way to stay away from those pollens when the levels are high outside would be to stay indoors, keep the air conditioning on, the windows shut, and using HEPA filters in your air handling systems,” says Cleveland.

With allergies from plants, animals, and the weather affecting people differently throughout the year, Dr. Cleveland suggests if you don’t know what you’re allergic to, make an appointment with an allergist to get tested.