Pollen season has been getting worse, and this could be fueling it

CHARLOTTE — Across North Carolina, late March and early April are typically the yellowest time of the year. Tree pollen is peaking and grass pollen season is just getting started, but research shows, across the country, that those seasons get getting longer and more intense.

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According to the Department of Health and Human services, that’s because rising temperatures are leading to milder winters and more frost-free days which means pollen producing plants can bloom earlier and survive later. Research also shows higher CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere are linked to more pollen production.

As global CO2 levels and temperatures continue to rise, scientists expect this trend to continue, and those who treat allergy symptoms, like Dr. Roopen Patel with the Carolina Asthma and Allergy Center, say they’re already seeing some impact on their patients.

“I started in the practice in 2007 and every year you just see this incremental increase in the number of days that patients are exposed to the pollen,” he said. “We monitor these pollen counts on an annual basis and we see that the levels are getting higher.”

North Carolina set a record for grass pollen concentration in the last week of March, and though North Carolina’s records only go back to 1999, most of the highest recorded tree pollen concentrations have been in the past 10 years.

“With higher levels it’s going to cause more intense symptoms as well,” Dr. Patel said. “These are our patients that develop the classic sneezing fits during the spring season, they get itchy watery eyes, stuffy nose runny nose and these symptoms don’t sound bad but they can become very debilitating and effect someone’s quality of life on a daily basis.”

If you do suffer, Patel said there are strategies to find relief. Besides seeing an allergist or taking over-the-counter medications, he recommends keeping your windows closed, limiting your time outside, filtering your indoor air and taking a shower at the end of the day.

“Get that pollen off of you so you’re not going to bed breathing it in all night long,” he said.

Patel also recommends getting allergy tested to determine what exactly is triggering the allergic response and paying close attention to daily pollen forecasts to prepare accordingly.

Rain can provide some relief to wash pollen away but Patel said until the season gets out of its peak, that relief is typically short-lived.

“It only takes a day or two for the weather to get nice again,” he said. “We’re going to start seeing those pollen counts rise up again.”

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