Spring Ushers In The Dreaded Pollen Season

Most of us who were born and raised south of the Mason-Dixon Line love it, unless it's pollen season, aka the pollen tsunami.

We cling to our accents, sweet tea, and warmer winters, but when it comes to the early days of spring, the yellow mess of pollen that comes with it is more than just an inconvenience.

It can be pretty miserable, and it can make you pretty sick depending on where you live.

Between late October and the arrival of March, central Texans can suffer from the dreaded cedar fever; the extreme sinus congention, headaches and respiratory issues that have been known to morph into a respiratory infection, bronchitis, or pneumonia, if it's a heavy season.

The mountain cedar pollen is more common in drier areas, usually between San Antonio and Junction, to Austin and into Waco.

In east and southeast Texas where the humidity reigns supreme, it's pine, oak, hackberry, cypress and the junipers too, that spread that yellow tsunami wave of pollen on victims between Texarkana and Freeport.

And just like with the dreaded mountain cedar, this can make you sick if you are particularly sensitive to these.

The myth with all this is that if you're inside and not outside, you'll be fine.

That's true for the most part, but once you've walked outside to take out the trash or let the dog out, the pollen is on your clothes, it's in your hair, and it's on your pets.

You may as well be laying in a meadow making pollen angels.

Some of the symptoms associated with the pollen allergies include:

• Ichy, watery red eyes
• Itchy runny nose
• Sneezing
• difficulty breathing
• coughing
• congestion
• headaches
• Itchy throat
• Itchy skin

It never hurts to stock up on over the county meds and nasal sprays to prepare for the season, and if you can, see your family doctor so you can get your allergy shot sooner rather than later.

While pollen can make you feel physical discomfort, it also makes a mess of your vehicle, with a sticky yellow film that if left alone, can ruin your paint job.

That's when most in the south pray for rain to wash the yellow stickiness off our vehicles, our homes and out of the air so being outside can then become somewhat bearable.

But if the rain is absent, it's best to wash the pollen off with a buck of warm water and Dawn liquid soap, which is used to to clean birds of every sort that are caught in oil slicks, are better for getting of the pollen than regular car soap.

It's also not a bad idea to put a coat of wax on your car.

This makes the finish slicker, which also makes it harder for the pollen to stick and it will make your paint job last a lot longer.

Want to learn more? Click this link to learn about the pollen where you are.

Images: Shutterstock

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