It’s allergy season. Here’s what to expect and how to fight back | CBC News

If you take a quick walk outside these days, you’ll see the greenery in full force.

Most of us love the sight of grass, leaves and flowers, but allergy sufferers might sneeze just at the mention of them — and some say this year is worse than others.

Dr. Collin Terpstra, an allergist and clinical immunologist based out of Cambridge, Ont., spoke with Craig Norris of The Morning Edition about what to expect this season.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Craig Norris: Are allergies worse this season than in the past?

Dr. Collin Terpstra: They do vary and it really depends on what someone’s allergic to, so not everyone’s allergic to the same thing. We just came through the birch season and I do get the weekly report. So, there’s an aerobiology lab and they’ll tell me the reports week on week, and I can tell you for sure that the birch season this year was about 30 per cent higher and it was — also about a week earlier than it was last year. That one’s starting to taper off and we’re moving into oak but some of it has to do with climate change, too. 

I can’t really tell you when winter starts and ends. It’s shifting. So some of the pollen seasons may be more pronounced or lessened. It’s changing for sure.

CN: How does the weather play into allergy season?

CT: Moulds will come for different reasons as well, too, so we often overlook moulds as a trigger for allergies. But when you’re getting rainy weather and you have a lot of decaying matter, when the winter is not frozen anymore, they come out earlier. Some people will call them snow moulds. 

When you get very extreme temperatures, certain trees and plants, grass in particular, it really enjoys putting out a lot more pollen. So, it’s kind of the extremes of temperature and having longer periods that will exacerbate the amount of pollen or mould spores that are coming out. 

CN: What about where you live? Do you notice that allergy sufferers struggle more if they live out in the country compared to the city?

CT: That’s variable as well, so depending on what you’re allergic to. But in the city, a lot of the trees that are planted are male trees so they don’t produce fruit and make a messy sidewalk. And the male trees are the ones that will produce more pollen. It’s actually worse inside a city, it’s got good growing conditions for those types of weeds. So, it can be variable between urban and rural settings, but people that might have trouble when they’re combining more in the fall, that could be problematic too.

CN: Gardening season is in full swing. How can people combat these allergies while also still hanging out outside?

CT: There is a little bit of variation during the day. Early morning tends to be a little bit worse. But there’s a lot of good over-the-counter options from a treatment perspective. So, you could always use a non-sedating antihistamine before you go out to work in the garden.

You want to enjoy the sunshine. That’s the worst thing with allergy sufferers — they’re miserable when they go outside and they stuff themselves inside and they can’t really enjoy the nice weather. But just don’t use Benadryl. If you take anything from what I say today, don’t use Benadryl. But a good non-sedating antihistamine, you could take one in the morning, one in the evening, that would be fine. That’s a good over-the-counter nasal spray you can use before you go outside before the symptoms come.

LISTEN | Hear the full interview with Dr. Collin Terpstra: