Most people know it’s spring as the days get longer and the temperature rises. But some already sensed the seasonal shift because of a stuffy nose, dry eyes or itchy throat since late February.
Allergy season is almost year-round in Florida, but spring is considered the worst time. Oak, pine and cedar trees are the largest pollinators from December through May.
The rest of the year, allergies mainly stem from grasses such as Bermuda, bahia and ryegrass or weeds such as ragweed, sagebrush and nettle according to Tampa General Hospital.
“It’s a serious, serious problem at this time of year,” said Dr. Richard Lockey, a professor in the USF Health Division of Allergy and Immunology. “Much more problematic than the grass season and the weed season.”
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Tampa ranks 25th nationally for the most challenging places to live with pollen allergies this year, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s annual report.
Other Florida cities in the top 100 include Jacksonville (20th), Sarasota (22nd), Lakeland (30th), Palm Bay (31st), Orlando (34th), Cape Coral (43rd), Daytone Beach (47th) and Miami (65th).
The worst? Wichita, Kansas.
“Every season here in the spring is the worst season. And it’s certainly the worst season throughout the year for sure,” Lockey said. “And (spring) is the worst season, period, for everybody who has allergic problems.”
National experts have found that the pollen season has extended by 20 days and its intensity has increased by 21% in the past three decades.
The Allergy and Asthma Foundation found that climate change is responsible for longer and more intense allergy seasons.
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Lockey adds the intensity increase is also part of the larger-scale results of urban growth in Florida and the Tampa Bay area specifically.
“As you urbanize a society, the weeds change because everybody cuts down the weeds that don’t belong in your yard and they put grass there,” Lockey said. “The grass that we cultivate in our yards doesn’t really pollinate very much, so they take away the grasses that would be ordinary pollinators.”
Despite that population growth, Tampa has been ranked as a world leader in urban tree canopies by the MIT Senseable City Lab’s ‘Treepedia.’ This means that Tampa has lowered urban temperatures by implementing green canopy strategies – but the high amount of greenery could be detrimental to those who suffer from allergies.
One of Tampa’s most common trees — and biggest pollinators — is the oak tree. It’s protected by regulations in an effort to preserve the state's natural beauty and ecological balance.
And as University of Florida Herbarium botanist Marc Frank told WUSF last year, “It's important to remember the pollen-producing plants' environmental benefits far outweigh the allergic symptoms they cause.”
There are options available other than cutting down all the oak trees: Start to take antihistamines a few weeks earlier than you have in the past, purify the air in your house with a filter, and stay indoors on high-pollen days, which can be tracked through services such as Bay News 9, The Weather Channel or AccuWeather.
“The treatment available now is better than anytime in the history of the world,” Lockey said. “There’s no reason for people to suffer.”
