Posted Sept 20, 2012
Jane Ann Rayman can’t wait for the first hard frost of the year.
As someone who sneezes and gets itchy eyes even with allergy shots, the first hard frost of the year would kill weeds and the pollen they give off.
“And then after the first frost, we usually have some beautiful summer and fall weather,” said Rayman, 62, who lives in Aberdeen.
This is the time of the year for weeds to pollinate, said Dr. Thomas Luzier, an allergist at Aberdeen Asthma and Allergy.
But because of the dry season, people with outdoor allergies are experiencing more intense symptoms, he said.
“When it’s dry like this, the pollen can be blow around a lot easier than if it was raining,” Luzier said, adding rain would knock pollen out of the air. “So you don’t have as much pollen when it rains.
He said weeds usually begin to pollinate the first week of August, but it was a week early this year.
Rayman has certainly noticed it. Though she’s been getting allergy shots for 11 years, she said she still notices the symptoms.
“It’s tolerable,” she said. “I’ve been taking shots for quite some time and I have (allergy) medication.”
According to Pollen.com, which provides allergy information, Aberdeen’s pollen count has been high since mid-August.
The lack of rain means there are more days where pollen is in the air, Luzier said.
While weeds usually pollinate for 40 days, there have been more than 55 days of pollen, Luzier said.
“The perfect storm here is that you have a big season, because it was dry. You’re having no rest if you’re an allergic patient. There’s no knocking it out of the air.”
Amanda Ferraro, a sophomore at Presentation College from Shakopee, Minn., said the allergy season feels longer for her.
“This summer has been horrible,” she said. While she was in Aberdeen over the summer, she didn’t open her windows at all.
While the number of patients seen by Luzier has not gone up, the number of symptoms have gone up.
“Actually, they have more symptoms than I’m used to. Same number but the patients have more symptoms. They’re on prescription medication and they still don’t have control,” he said.
Julie Schneider said her son Gavin has experienced worse symptoms.
“There were times when his eyes would probably swell shut this season,” said Schneider, 45, from Turton.
Luzier said if the weather continues to be dry and unless there’s a frost, it’s likely the weeds will continue to pollinate until early October.
Any relief from the allergy season would come with an inch of rain or the first hard frost, Luzier said.
Mark Rosenberg, an agronomy weeds field specialist at the South Dakota State University Extension office in Aberdeen, said 28 degree weather for two to three hours overnight would be cold enough to kill the weeds. But until that hard frost, the weeds will continue to pollinate until they finish, he said.
“That may not be much consolation for somebody suffering from allergies, but it should lessen as time goes on,” Rosenberg said.
Ways to reduce outdoor allergy symptoms
–Keep windows closed to reduce exposure to pollen. –Wear a mask when doing outdoor activities. –Take antihistamines. Source: Dr. Thomas Luzier, Aberdeen Asthma and Allergy
©2012 the American News (Aberdeen, S.D.)
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