Doctors in New Hampshire say they’re hearing from more patients that their allergies are worse this year, but the data show that pollen counts this summer are roughly the same as last year.
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center is one of roughly 60 stations across the country that measure pollen counts and reports data to the National Allergy Bureau; a machine that sits on their roof with sticky film that catches pollen that can be counted under a microscope.
Tree pollen is the biggest culprit of allergies currently. Grass pollen counts are low at the moment, but are starting to pick up, according to An Huynh, an allergist and clinical immunologist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.
Read more about tips on managing allergies
Huynh said some people may be experiencing both tree and grass pollen simultaneously which could compound the feeling of allergies feeling worse this year than others.
“We are having that overlap right now as we look into our pollen count and counting pollen is that that's why we're seeing tree and grass pollen,” Huynh said. “Right now some people are just getting it much worse than other times of the year or their previous years.”
Overall, Huynh says, pollen counts have been increasing over the last two decades by about 20 to 25%.
“So it is worse. It's not all in your head but just in your sinuses,” he said.
The allergy season is getting longer as climate change contributes to an extended growing season.
“It's important to potentially see an allergy doctor to talk about allergy testing to find – are you specifically allergic to maple tree pollen or birch tree pollen or cottonwood or whatever that may be to help localize your symptoms,” Huynh said.
Huyhn said steroidal and antihistamine nasal sprays can be some of the first lines of defense against allergies.
“You should angle the nose spray nozzle away from the middle of your nose towards the inside corner of your eye,” Huynh said.
Huyhn said he often holds the nasal spray with the opposite hand of the side of the nostril targeted. Tilting forward can also help.
“If you taste it, you waste it,” Huynh said.
Afrin, or oxymetazoline nasal sprays, are not recommended by Dartmouth allergists as Huynh said that the nasal decongestant can cause swelling but doesn’t treat the causes of allergies.
Non-drowsy medications like Zyrtec, Allegra, and Xyzal are recommended.
Neti pots and saline rinse are non-medicated therapies that Huynh said can help.
But for long term relief, people can seek allergen immunotherapy as a method of reducing allergies.
