Hay fever comes from discomfort for people of any age. However, you can minimize the effect of pollen allergy with effective allergy treatment. When you develop a treatment plan, among the primary steps an allergist takes is to find out what the exact allergy trigger or triggers are. This process starts with the understanding of different kinds of pollen allergies.

During spring, summer, fall, and winter, plants release tiny pollens to fertilize other plants that come from the same species. The majority of the pollen that causes allergic reaction comes from grasses, trees, and weeds. These plants make light, small, and dry pollen grains that are transported by the wind. These pollens can go inside your nose, ears, and lungs that cause allergy symptoms if you are allergic to pollen.

Grass Pollen

The most common culprit of hay fever is grass pollen, and it normally lasts from late spring until summer. In reality, there are different factors that could see grass pollen being there from March to October. The common signs of grass pollen allergies include watery eyes, runny nose, itchy nose, and other symptoms. The cause of allergies requires that an allergy doctor performs testing if you suffer from grass pollen allergy. Some grass types you should be aware of are timothy, Bermuda, sweet vernal, and orchard.

Ragweed Pollen Allergy

Ragweed plants are popular for being an allergen and they are most active between autumn and late spring.

Aside from ragweed, tumbleweed, and sagebrush, they are also common allergens of weed pollen.

Tree Pollen

Even if it is less common than grass pollen, tree pollen comes in the earlier part of the year. People who have hay fever normally start to experience symptoms in the spring – symptoms can continue the entire summer. Normally, peak periods fall from March to May when maple, oak, birch, and elm tree pollen are most common. When you have a diagnosis of the allergy, you can start to see how the different kinds of tree pollen are going to impact your allergies, and then you can take precautions to limit exposure to tree pollen.

Birch Pollen

Birch trees bloom during spring. Which is the reason why birch pollen is among the major causes of pollen allergies in spring. A single birch tree produces up to 5 million pollen grains that get dispersed into the air.

Aside from birch, allergies from tree pollen are caused by oak and cedar trees as well.

Treatment

Home remedies, medical treatments, and changes in lifestyle help ease pollen allergy symptoms.

Treatment options available:

• Antihistamine medications are over-the-counter, like loratadine or cetirizine. A person should begin to take these medications a couple of weeks before the start of allergy season.
• Immunotherapy tablets or shots in order to desensitize the body to pollen.
• Nasal corticosteroid sprays are effective when it comes to reducing inflammation and its symptoms associated with it.
• Nasal sprays are designed to relieve congestion and itching. These cover decongestants, which are just a short-term solution for swelling.

The majority of treatments can only help manage the symptoms or allergy, but will not cure them. immunotherapy can be helpful for managing long-term allergies but it takes a couple of years to complete.

How Long They Last

It will depend on the kind of pollen that triggers your allergies:

• Tree pollen – March until mid-May
• Grass pollen – Mid-may to mid-July
• Weed pollen – Mid-August to November

Your location will impact this. The weather also has an effect on pollen levels, which delays or extends how long the allergies last in a year.

You can visit an allergy clinic Germantown MD to manage your symptoms