Tree Allergies
Between February and June, trees are often the cause of sneezing and sniffling for allergy sufferers across the country. About 100 out of nearly 50,000 tree species cause allergy symptoms by releasing light, airy pollen that travels easily through the air.
Tree pollen causes typical hay fever symptoms such as:
- Runny nose
- Coughing
- Itchy, burning, and watery eyes
- Headache
- Sore throat
- Sinusitis
Some of the most common trees to cause allergy symptoms are:
- Alder
- Ash
- Beech
- Birch
- Cedar
- Elm
- Hickory
- Maple
- Mulberry
- Oak
- Poplar
- Sycamore
- Walnut
Some trees seem to cause more trouble for allergy sufferers than others, though. Mountain cedar, for example, is notorious for causing symptoms for people in Texas from December to March as it releases huge puffs of pollen visible to the naked eye. Because maple is such a prevalent tree, it seems to also cause symptoms for allergy sufferers as there is not much of an “escape” from it.
Individuals with a tree allergy may also feel symptoms when eating certain foods, like vegetables and fruits, due to oral allergy syndrome. Because the protein structures in these foods are similar to the tree pollen, they can cause itching and tingling to the mouth and throat, too.
Sublingual immunotherapy may help to eliminate symptoms to one or several different tree allergies, as well as help with any cross reactions that may occur.