Seasonal Allergies Increase In The Area With The Fall Season

This Saturday marks the official start of fall, and with the season change, seasonal allergies for many Minnesotans start to present themselves.

Many different types of allergens peak in the fall such as pollen, hay fever, ragweed, and mold. The warm weather during the day and the lingering humidity during the night contribute to the peak.

“The windy days that we get, kind of the variations in weather pattern where it will be cool for a few days then warm up pretty abruptly, that really triggers mold spores to be dispersed throughout the environment. It’s also a tough season because dust mites seem to peak this time of year,” explained Dr. Minto Porter, an Allergy Physician at Essentia Health in Brainerd. “When we spend a little more time indoors and the humidity levels are pretty high, it really seems to make dust mite levels climb.”

There are some things you can do to help prevent and control allergy symptoms such as using a nasal spray, antihistamines, and asthma medications. Doctors also recommend keeping humidity levels in your home low, below 50 to 60 percent, to help decrease mold spores and dust mites.

“Most pollens will persist until we get a few good freezes, and once it freezes over a few times, that will decrease pollen growth. People around here get a lot more continued exposure with activities like hunting and four-wheeling, and being out in those weeds continues to expose us to it,” added Dr. Porter.

The most common cause of fall allergies for Minnesotans is ragweed, which usually stops producing its allergy causing pollen by mid-November.