If there is one thing many University of Oregon students have in common besides being a Duck, it’s allergies. In the spring, the warm weather becomes a mode of transportation for pollen and other airborne allergens. Seasonal allergies are a hassle and often uncomfortable.
Allergy symptoms include a running nose, itchy eyes and throat, nasal congestion, sneezing and a cough. Similar to those of the common cold, they are easily recognizable.
Seasonal allergies, also known as allergic rhinitis, are an annual epidemic. According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, “Roughly 7.8 percent of people 18 and over in the U.S. have hay fever.” That statistic excludes children under the age of 17 in the U.S., of which 10 percent had experienced hay fever in 2010. The AAAAI also provides a statistic stating that worldwide allergic rhinitis effects 10-30 percent of the total population.
You may have started to get seasonal allergies when you were a kid, which is the most common age to begin feeling symptoms. However, according to Amy Beth Rowland, a registered nurse in the Nurse Specialty Clinic at the UO Health Center, students may get worse allergies living in Eugene than they did living elsewhere as a child due to increased exposure to pollen.
“In Eugene in particular, there is so much pollen from the grass,” Rowland said. “A lot of the people who move to Eugene who have never had allergies before sometimes develop them just because of the very high amount of pollen in the area.”
The Oregon Allergy Associates, a part of the National Allergy Bureau, measures the levels of pollen in the Eugene-Springfield area using an air sampler at their office in downtown Eugene. The latest measurement, taken May 3, states that trees in the area, mainly maple, ash and walnut, have a high concentration of pollen so far this season. The pollen count for grass in the area is currently measured as having a moderate concentration.
Avoiding seasonal allergies is tough, especially in spring and summer, because the pollen causing them is airborne.
“Staying indoors, driving with your windows up, keeping your windows shut and using just central air so you don’t have the pollen blowing in through the windows can be helpful,” Rowland said.
If your allergies are really bad, Rowland suggests wearing a pollen mask, available in the health center, to avoid getting any pollen in your nose and mouth.
Rowland is just one of several nurses who works in the Nurse Specialty Clinic focusing on allergies and colds. If you are having trouble with allergies, set up an appointment and they can refer you to an allergist if needed.
Allergies are a fact of life, especially in Eugene. Take the necessary precautions to keep your allergies at bay while you enjoy the spring weather and be sure to see a nurse at the health center if your allergy symptoms escalate.