It’s April, and you know the old saying: April showers bring May flowers. Although you don’t need to wait until May, as plenty of things are blooming right now. Blooming means pollen, and pollen means allergies, so if you’ve got a sniffly nose, here are some potential culprits.
Flowers
Spring in Charleston is so beautiful, and that’s because of all the flowers popping up at this time. Azaleas, irises, tulips and other bulb flowers make our landscape vibrant, signaling the end of winter. The flowers just mentioned are generally low pollen producers, but not all flowers blooming around this town can say the same. Wisteria, for example, produces significant amounts of pollen.
Trees
Redbud trees are known as the harbinger of spring. If there’s one or two in your neighborhood, chances are they’re covered from trunk to tip in flashy pink flowers right now. Dogwood trees, too, are flush with flowers in April. Careful: those flowers are where the trees’ pollen is produced.
Grass
Around 25% of Americans have pollen allergies, and without a doubt, grass pollen is the biggest offender. When grass pollen starts to fly, that’s when peak seasonal allergy season starts.
For now, you can rest easy: grass pollen usually kicks off in the summer, so you have a few more weeks before the worst of it hits. That said, it means that now is the perfect time to start taking an antihistamine or begin a long-term allergy management treatment, so you have a head start once grass starts producing its pollen in waves.
Knowing What’s Making You Sneeze
Flowers, trees and grass are the biggest producers of pollen in South Carolina, and they all take their turn. Flowers and trees are the largest producers in the spring, but come summer, grass will take the stage.
It’s incredibly useful to know what exactly is contributing to your allergy symptoms so you can avoid the trigger whenever possible and take action against your worst symptoms. In order to know for sure what you’re allergic to, we recommend taking an allergy test. These tests assess your reaction (or reactions) to a wide variety of potential allergens. To schedule an appointment, call Charleston ENT & Allergy and we’d be happy to get you on the calendar.