Thursday, January 5, 2012

Cedar pollen is amongst us!

It is that time of the year again..... already cedar fever season and if you haven't had the charm of suffering through this yet I welcome you now!  What exactly is this all about you ask? Sit back and learn my friend.

Cedar pollen usually starts causing us a problem from mid December to about April or May with a peak in January and February. The male cedar trees, actually mountain  cedar, start turning a burnt orange/brown color at the ends and if you sit and watch you can see them explode with pollen. It looks like a yellow cloud bursting as if the trees are on fire. This pollen is carried a long distance by the wind in hopes to pollinate the female trees.

The people who are particularly sensitive to this pollen can tell its out there even when the level is very, very low. They start sneezing a lot, their noses and back of their throats itch and their noses clog up when they spend time outside. Going out and enjoying our beautiful sunny winter days are torture because the allergy sufferers can get so clogged up from the allergies they can't breath through their noses! (then it drips all over the place, ewww).

Some people get pretty ill from the pollen because they are very sensitive to it. Besides the above allergy symptoms some people may start wheezing and coughing so much they set off an asthma attack. It is believed that the chemical nature of the pollen is responsible for it's toxic nature. 


How does one survive the season year after year? Glad you asked! First you must be prepared by starting allergy medication BEFORE the pollen starts blowing around. This is typically started at the first of December by taking an OTC allergy medication such as fexofenadine, loratadine, or cetirizine daily at night. Also start using a prescribed steroid nasal spray each morning - common ones are fluticasone (flonase), nasonex, or veramyst. 


Then when the cedar pollen starts blowing around you are not caught off guard and trying to play catch up, which is very hard to do. Once the pollen count gets high enough to affect you all you have to add to your repertoire is a saline nasal wash 2 times a day - especially after being outside for any length of time. See other blog posts I've done on the saline nasal rinse and be sure to only use distilled water. Tap water is not clean enough and after all the processing it can sting your nose.


Another key point to remember is after you spend time outside doing yardwork, exercising or just walking outside after shopping or work it is important to come inside, remove your clothing and put it in the laundry, take a shower and wash your hair and then rinse out your nasal passages with a saline nasal rinse.  All of this will prevent you from bringing pollen in and dropping it all over your house and having it constantly irritate you. You especially don't want it on your pillow at night  - that does not make for a good nights sleep!


May you stay clean, sneeze free and healthy this winter!


Ciao for now,


Michele