For those on the East Coast and in the Midwest, spring couldn't come soon enough. Unseasonably freezing climes and inclement weather have plagued the regions for months, with winter getting and earlier start and taking its time wrapping up. However, it mightn't be the rebirth everybody's hoping for, with allergy season thought to be especially strong this year as a result of the thawing polar vortex.
As a hefty chunk of the United States slowly warms up, trees and flowers will be coming into bloom a little later than usual. The result? An overcompensation of pollen-rich vegetation, as trees fight to return to their normal seasonal state. The pollen is joined by mold, resulting in a second wind for allergy season.
"If the past is any indication for how this year is going to go, the season is going to begin earlier and be even more severe than last year," said Dr. William Reisacher of New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center to New York 1. "This time of the year, what we are seeing is, the snow cover is starting to melt in surrounding areas, and what that does, that puts mold spores into the air," Reisacher says. "And many people who are sensitive to mold, and even not sensitive to mold, react when the levels of mold spores are high."
While different species of tree typically pollinate at different times, a condensed start to spring means that trees which generally flower in March (such as elm and pine trees) bursting with allergenic substances at the same as later bloomers, such as birch, ash, maple, and oak. "If it warms up quickly, and gets really warm, that may mean everything starts pollinating all at once," said biology Professor Estelle Levetin of University of Tulsa to CNN.
Medical practitioners are urging allergy sufferers to get a headstart on treatments to ward off the worst of the symptoms. Some treatments, such as steroid-based nasal spray, take at least two weeks to build up immunity to allergens, with doctors recommending that allergy sufferers seek out medical advice and prescriptions sooner rather than later to make the most of the impending sunshine - without the hassle of sneezing and spluttering.
