Ragweed Season is Here - Are You Ready?
As summer comes to an end, it doesn’t just mean cooler temperatures and the changing of the leaves in Chattanooga it also means that ragweed season is here. It’s important to prepare for ragweed season by knowing your allergens, starting immunotherapy, and taking additional steps to limit the symptoms associated with ragweed.
If you or your child's allergies flare up in the late summer or early fall, you’re most likely allergic to ragweed. It’s the most common trigger for hay fever. About 1 out of 5 people get a reaction to it.
What is ragweed?
The primary culprit of fall allergies is ragweed pollen. A ragweed plant only lives one season, but it packs a powerful punch. A single plant can produce up to 1 billion pollen grains. These grains are very lightweight and float easily through the air.
People who have ragweed allergies are reacting to its pollen. During ragweed season, one plant can release a billion grains of it into the air.
What are the symptoms of a ragweed allergy?
Ragweed causes symptoms like stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, and itchy eyes. It can also trigger asthma flares. Although often associated with hay fever, ragweed can also cause skin conditions such as allergic contact dermatitis (hives).
Ragweed is worse when nights are cool and days are warm and dry.
Its season usually starts in early August and ends in mid-October. Some researchers think climate change may be extending that season.
Everywhere in the U.S. has ragweed. It's most common in the East and Midwest, but it's in every state. Because it's so light, the wind carries ragweed pollen far. Researchers have found ragweed pollen 2 miles up in the atmosphere and 400 miles out at sea.
How is a ragweed allergy treated?
If you’re suffering from hay fever symptoms in the late summer or fall, consult an allergist about the possibility of a ragweed allergy. Your allergist can confirm a diagnosis with a skin test — applying a diluted allergen to the surface of your skin and waiting about 15 minutes to see if there is a reaction, such as a raised red bump that itches.
Ragweed allergies can be treated with antihistamines and other allergy medications. As with pollen season in the spring, you can try to get ahead of these allergies by starting your medication two weeks before you expect your symptoms to be at their worst. Ask your allergist whether any of your medications can be taken before symptoms develop.
Two immunotherapy options are available for severe cases of ragweed allergy:
Allergy shots can help your body build resistance.
Tablets that dissolve under your tongue are available by prescription. Pills must be started 12 weeks before the beginning of ragweed season.
Other tips to help with a ragweed allergy include:
To avoid pollen, know which pollens you are sensitive to, and then check pollen counts. In spring and summer, during tree and grass pollen season, levels are highest in the evening.
Avoid peak ragweed hours. Limit your time outside between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Counts are lower in the early morning and late afternoon.
Track pollen counts. You can check pollen counts daily on our website. Stay inside when they're high.
Keep your windows closed at all times, both at home and in the car.
Remember that pollen can be tracked into your home via your clothes, your hair, or your pet — so change your clothes after being outside for long periods of time, shower before going to bed and wash your hands after petting an animal that has been outside. Don't dry laundry outside. It will pick up ragweed pollen. Dry your laundry in a dryer.
If you are experiencing fall allergy symptoms, or have experienced them in the past, it’s important to get tested to identify the exact allergy and to begin treatment as prescribed by your board-certified Chattanooga Allergy Clinic physician. Click here to make your appointment today.
Sources:
https://www.webmd.com/allergies/ragweed-allergy
https://acaai.org/allergies/allergic-conditions/ragweed-allergy/