Are Allergies Worse In The Rain
Most people look forward to a nice rainy day to wash away the smog or give us a little peace of mind. Those who suffer from allergies, seasonal or chronic, may be wondering if allergies are better or worse in rainy conditions. Read on to find out how rain can affect allergy symptoms and conditions.
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How Can I Ease My Allergy Symptoms On A Rainy Day
“Don’t forget to take your allergy meds on a regular basis,” Dr. Elliott said, noting that nasal steroid sprays take at least five days to kick in, so they need to be taken for the entirety of allergy season in order to be effective. “On high pollen count days and when there is a storm, have a non-drowsy, as-needed antihistamine handy.”
If your allergy symptoms seem to get worse after it’s rained, Dr. Jain recommends being proactive about treatment in order to avoid experiencing a flare. “You can start taking a daily non-sedating antihistamine such as Zyrtec or Claritin during the rainy season. You can also begin using nasal sprays or your inhaler as needed or at the onset of any mild symptoms,” Dr. Jain said. “Saline nasal sprays are an effective way to reduce irritation or drying out of the nasal mucosa. Intranasal steroids, like Flonase, are also a great controller option to reduce swelling, congestion, postnasal drip, and nasal drainage caused by inhalation of environmental allergens.”
If you know what you’re allergic to, Dr. Jain suggests reducing exposure to known allergies as much as possible. If you don’t, it’s important make an appointment with an allergist so you can get tested and find out the best way to manage your symptoms.
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How Do I Treat My Allergies
As allergy symptoms worsen and seasons get longer, its important for people to understand their symptoms and how to reduce exposure to allergens. A comprehensive ENT specialist will work with patients to identify their symptom triggers using an allergy test, and evaluate them for other contributing factors, such as chronic sinus disease, or if they need to be referred to an allergist. Once the specific allergen has been identified and all other factors have been accounted for, symptomatic and surgical treatments can be explored, as well as immunotherapy.
Nasal sprays, topical eye drops, steroids and over-the-counter antihistamines are symptomatic medications that can alleviate swollen eyes, sneezing and congestion. If medications are ineffective, a specialist might suggest in-office allergy shots or sublingual immunotherapy, which conditions the body so that its immune system responds less adversely to an allergen over time.
Dr. Dilger says patients might need to adjust how long they use their medications due to the lengthening allergy seasons, which can be bothersome for some due to side effects.
Runny Noses In Cold Weather
As the weather starts to turn cold and crisp, you might notice that you are packing your pockets with tissues. But having a runny nose in cold weather usually isn’t due to allergiesit is non-allergic vasomotor rhinitis. This non-allergic form of rhinitis may result in a runny nose, post-nasal drip, and/or nasal congestion. It is caused by a number of triggers, including temperature changes, windy weather, changes in humidity, strong odors, perfumes, and smoke.
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Dust Mite Allergy Symptoms Can Be Depressing
As the case with most allergies, symptoms will differ from person to person. Dust mites will affect some people with rashes, hives, eczema. I also experienced watery eyes and a chronic cough.
Some people will develop asthma and others will feel fatigue from poor sleep due to a congested nose. Whats even worse is that untreated allergy symptoms can lead to even worse illness like sleep apnea.
Below are a few of the symptoms you might experience.
The fatigue I experienced was so bad I could barely get through a day, even after 10 hours of sleep! Thankfully I didnt experience asthma, however many people do.
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Conjunctivitis
My Dust Mite Allergies Were Worst During 2 Seasons
Before I was tested for allergies, it was difficult for me to understand why I felt the way I did. I knew I was experiencing symptoms year-round, but I didnt get it.
I had never heard of dust mites . Summer and Winter were the hardest for me and I expect it will be the same for you.
Summer Season
Dust mites thrive in summer. Its the worst time of year for dust mite allergy because it combines warmth and moisture two things that dust mites need. In humid areas like the American Mid-West, East, and South, summers can be miserable for people with dust mite allergy.
Humidity provides a lot of air moisture needed for dust mites to survive, and not only survive but thrive. Humid homes also make a great environment for indoor mold, another serious allergen. If you have a basement, you can likely feel the high humidity in the summer .
In the Western U.S., where summers are drier, dust mites dont have access to as much moisture so allergic individuals should have fewer, more manageable symptoms. Summers are less of an issue for dust mites in places like Arizona, Nevada, and California.
Winter Season
So, who has allergies in the winter? People with dust mite allergy do! Winter dust mite allergies can be tough to determine. In the winter, homes usually have poor ventilation to maintain warmth. I lived in a home with carpeting throughout and forced-air heating.
In the winter my family would use the heater. I came to realize 2 things:
What about Spring and Autumn Seasons?
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Causes Of Asthma Getting Worse In Rainy Season
In asthma the air passage become swollen. Swelling causes the air passage to secrete thick sticky mucus. Asthma also causes the muscles around the airways to constrict. All three factors inflammation, mucus and constricted muscles lead to narrower air passage.
Climate change has been known to have great impact on asthma patients. The symptoms of asthmatic patients flare up during rains and many of them have to visit emergency room. The pollen grains are likely to break open during rain and thunderstorm. They release micro allergen particles in the air which can penetrate in airway. Wind during rain can blow molds and pollen. Both these allergens increase the risk of acute asthmatic attack among people prone to asthma.
Lightning and thunderstorm with rain can lead to formation of ozone in the air. It is believed to trigger acute asthmatic attacks in some people. Often due to increased allergy during rain, patient suffers from sinusitis which is also known to increase the risk of bronchospasm. Extreme humidity during rain is a trigger for acute asthma.
How Weather Affects Your Allergies
Allergy season can start as early as January and last well beyond the fall. If you suffer from pollen allergies the cold weather might give a long deserved break. However, if you suffer from mold and dust mite allergies winter is the beginning of a very long 89-day period. Add seasonal allergies to the mix and you could be looking at a prison sentence of itchy eyes, runny nose, and more year-round. So how does weather affect your allergies? Everything from temperature to climate can have an effect on how you feel throughout the year.
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What Our Patients Say About Us
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I couldnât breathe, I couldnât do anything that I wanted to do, let alone go out and do anything athletic with my children or for myself. Then I met Dr Berger. He changed my life â he put in the time, the effort and the extra research to get me the diagnosis and the correct medications that changed my life forever!… – Linda
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When I first got diagnosed with asthma it started off as exercised induced but throughout the years it became worse than that. Just a wind would make me feel like I needed to take my inhaler, a change in the weather and I had to take a breathing treatment. It was really hard especially for being an athlete, because you donât want anything holding you back from what you love to do…
Allergies Worsen During And After Rain
Anyone who has lived in Atlanta for any length of time knows that a good rainstorm will create rivers of yellow as it washes away the pollen that has built up over allergy season. Despite what you might think, the rain actually makes allergy symptoms worse for most people, instead of better. Thats because the rain bursts the pollen particles prior to washing them away, putting higher concentrations of particles into the air.
This is particularly troublesome for people with asthma, especially when you take into account that nearly 95 percent of people diagnosed with asthma also have seasonal allergies. The severe symptoms asthma sufferers experience when it rains is known as thunderclap asthma, which is really an asthma attack triggered by pollen, not rain.
The best thing to do is to stay indoors during rainy weather, and when you do have to go outside, make sure you shower and change clothes when you return home. Otherwise, you could be shedding pollen on your bedding and around your home. Running the air conditioner and making sure air filters are kept clean can also help limit pollen exposure and reduce both asthma and allergy symptoms.
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Is It An Allergy
You may think you have allergies because you have nasal congestion, runny nose, and maybe even sneezing. However, when you doctor performs allergy tests you are told that there is no evidence of allergy. What could this possibly be?
Vasomotor rhinitis is a disorder which is frequently seen in allergy practice but has nothing at all to do with true allergic disease. See the sections on allergic disease to understand how the allergic antibody, or IgE, works and how this leads to allergy symptoms. Vasomotor rhinitis is a poorly understood disorder which mimics many of the symptoms of nasal allergy, but has a completely different basis. Failure to recognize these differences has led to a great deal of misunderstanding about this disorder.
To understand vasomotor rhinitis otherwise known as non-allergic rhinitis it is worthwhile to first discuss allergic rhinitis. Nasal allergies, or allergic rhinitis, have two distinct clinical forms. One form is referred to as “hayfever” or seasonal allergic rhinitis, which occurs at a particular time or season of the year due to exposure to “pollens” or “allergens” such as grass and ragweed. Another form is associated with nasal symptoms throughout the year without definite seasonal variation, and more commonly is due to the allergens such as house dust, mold, mildew, and animal dander. This year round form is called perennial allergic rhinitis. Patients may frequently have both.
Can The Weather Make Your Allergies Worse
Home » Can The Weather Make Your Allergies Worse?
Have you ever wondered why sometimes your allergies flare on windy days, or your allergy symptoms get worse after it rains? The truth is that the weather can affect your allergies in different ways, depending on what you are allergic to.
If you are allergic to dog or cat dander, your allergies might flare up more during the winter when most people tend to keep their pets indoors and spend less time outside. Most people also tend to turn on their heater at home, which causes some pets to shed more during the winter months.
If you are allergic to mold, rainy or humid days can make your allergies worse. Moisture helps mold grow both indoors and outdoors.
For those allergic to dust mites, humid days can also make their allergies flare up because dust mites thrive in humid environments.
For those with allergic asthma, the hot summer days can bring about asthma attacks because the ozone and smog is a serious trigger.
The weather can especially influence the allergic reactions for those allergic to pollen. Weather conditions can determine the amount of pollen production throughout the year. For example: a mild winter can signify an early allergy season because the trees tend to start pollinating earlier than usual, while a long winter can delay pollen production.
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The Worst Time Of Year For Dust Mite Allergy Symptoms
If you have a dust mite allergy, you might wonder when the worst time of year is for dust mite symptoms. Could it be the spring, summer, autumn, or winter season? Or all of them? For many people suffering from dust mite allergy it probably seems like the suffering never stops.
Ive had dust mite allergy for over 20 years and Ill share my personal experience with seasonal and year-round dust mite allergy symptoms. Ill also share general treatment advice that was given to me by allergist for winter and summer season symptoms..
Lastly, well discuss a few ways to improve your health and reduce your dust mite exposure.
How Mechanical Ventilation Works
Mechanical ventilation works by pulling in freshly filtered air from the outside while moving stagnant indoor air out. It filters the outdoor air, balances its humidity, and dilutes indoor air of other contaminants like dust, seasonal allergies, mold, volatile organic compounds, and odor. These contaminants can leave you and your family feeling ill and fatigued, and contribute to sleep issues.
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Chilly Damp Weather Stiffens Joints
While it’s unusual for migraine sufferers to move for improved health, it’s not uncommon for people with joint pain to do so — particularly the elderly. “A lot of our patients migrate to warmer weather because they cannot tolerate the pain,” says Javad Parvizi, MD, PhD, a joint specialist at the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. In studying the relationship of weather to arthritic pain in weight-bearing joints, Parvizi says that his preliminary data show a significant correlation between joint pain and changes in weather.
“Baseline pain appears to be strongly affected by a drop in temperature and a change in humidity. Almost 80% to 90% of patients feel a difference in their pain’s intensity and sensitivity,” Parvizi tells WebMD.
Instead of simply reacting to weather-associated increases in joint pain with measures like placing heating pads over painful joints and doubling up on analgesics, Parvizi recommends that people use proactive measures to improve joint function, such as engaging in nonweight-bearing exercises. Other than that, he admits, “There’s not a lot that can be done.”
How Does Rain Affect Allergies
After the heat weve experienced this summer, many of us are looking forward to the rain that comes every fall in the Pacific Northwest.
Many people think of fall as the end of allergy season, but for many, this is not true. Fall allergens such as ragweed and year-round allergens like dust mites and mold spores can flare up even in rainy weather. In fact, for many, rain makes allergies worse.
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Why Allergies Flare Up When It Rains
Soil gets enough water with rain and you might have seen many unwanted grass grow. As trees, plants grow and start flowering, pollen also increases.
So with increase in wind these pollen particles travel all the way to your body and trigger allergic reaction.
Likewise, mold grows with rain and when a hypersensitive person inhales them. Asthma or other allergic symptoms can be experienced.
With sudden change in temperature, allergies find favorable condition. So you may experience allergic reaction while raining. Skin rashes, itching and respiratory issues can be seen.
While raining pollen, dust and other irritants are stopped by water. But, after rain stops, these allergens revert with intense action. So, some of you may not experience allergic reaction while raining, but within couple of days after rain allergic signs can be seen.
How to Deal with Allergies In or After Rain?
First you must diagnose to determine the allergen. Once the allergen is confirmed by skin-prick test, you must avoid exposing yourself to it.
Stay indoors and avoid unnecessary going if youve pollen allergy. You also try home remedies to avoid or reduce acute or mild allergic symptoms. If youve ever experienced thunderstorm asthma, then consult doctor immediately.
Allergies Worse In Or After Rain Allergists Say
Are your allergies worse in or after a rainstorm? If so, that’s completely normal, said Warner Carr, MD, an allergist and fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Rain often washes pollen out of the environment, but first, it bursts pollen particles, spreading allergens farther, Dr. Carr said.
“During a rainstorm, the pollen in your environment gets saturated and fractures, releasing small particles into the air at a much higher concentration,” he explained. “When patients inhale them it causes a syndrome called ‘thunderclap asthma.'”
Then, there’s an allergic reaction in the lungs, causing asthma symptoms, or for those without asthma, allergy symptoms in the upper airways, he said.
Ninety-five percent of people with asthma also have allergies, Dr. Carr said. Rainstorms can produce serious respiratory symptoms for them, so patients should anticipate this, and be prepared with the proper asthma and/or allergy medication.
Besides medical therapies, there are non-medical steps you can take to lessen the effect of rain on your allergies, Dr. Carr said. “Limit your pollen exposure: Roll up the windows in your car or home, run a fan at home to circulate air through your house. When you’re outdoors, pollen is falling on you, so take a shower every night, so you’re not sleeping in what you’re allergic to,” he said.
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