Ready or Not: Ragweed Season is Coming

In the Midwest, Ragweed season starts in August, and symptoms can be brutal for those with seasonal allergies for months on end. One in four people in the U.S are allergic to ragweed. Ready or not, the symptoms are coming, so here’s what you can do to prepare.

What is Ragweed?

Ragweed is a big weed that can grow up to four feet tall and create up to one billion pollen molecules. When the wind blows, the pollen is released from the plant and travels far and wide throughout the air.

When breathed in, some bodies interpret the pollen as harmful and send a message to the immune system to react with inflammation and histamine. This is when allergic reactions start, causing congestion, itching, sneezing, and other common symptoms.

Are Ragweed Allergies Getting Worse?

A study, created with data from Allergy Associates of La Crosse (AAOL), found that ragweed allergy season is getting longer and stronger. The 20-year study found that ragweed season increased 15 days within that period in the La Crosse area, and even longer in more southern states. Because of climate change, the season is only expected to get longer and longer.

How to Reduce Reactions?

There are a few ways you can reduce symptoms from ragweed. Common actions are:

• Take antihistamines regularly
• Change clothes as soon as you go indoors to not bring pollen indoors
• Avoid eating raw melon, banana, and zucchini to reduce Oral Allergy Syndrome
• Use saline nasal rinses to clear pollen from your sinuses
• If extreme, wear a mask outdoors to reduce inhalation

While these may all keep your symptoms at bay, they don’t treat the root cause of the allergy itself, so you will continue to struggle through ragweed season year after year.

Treating the Cause

There is one way to treat the cause of allergies, and that is through immunotherapy – either drops, shots, or tablets. Providers at AAOL treat patients with allergy drops after allergy testing, thorough history and exam.

Allergy drops are custom tailored to each patient and contain tiny amounts of all the allergens they are found to be allergic to. The allergens are slowly and safely increased over the course of treatment, so that the body learns to tolerate more of the allergens when exposed.

At the end of successful treatment, many patients experience reduced – or eliminated – symptoms to things like ragweed, mold, grass, trees, and other pesky allergies. Check out our patient success stories, then schedule a consult at AAOL to see if allergy drops could benefit you.