Are your seasonal allergies worse this year? Here’s why

The symphony of sneezes and sniffles is a clear sign that allergy season is upon us. And if your symptoms are worse this year than last year, you’re not alone.

The reason why your seasonal allergy symptoms are more severe is likely because winters are warmer and allergy season is starting earlier than usual these days, according to Dr. Purvi Parikh, an allergist and immunologist in New York.

“There’s higher amounts of pollen due to rising greenhouse gasses and more CO2 in the air, which plants thrive off of,” Parikh said during an interview with CNBC Make It last May.

Breathing in allergens like pollen, mold and dust can cause swelling in your nasal passages, congestion and a scratchy throat because “your body mistakes allergens as a threat to the body, so then you have histamine that is released,” said Shelby Harris, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in behavioral sleep medicine, who spoke to Make It in April of 2023.

Here are a few ways you can alleviate your allergy symptoms throughout the spring.

Harris shared a few hacks you can use to reduce the spread of pollen in your space:

• Change your sheets once a week
• Vacuum frequently
• Use an air purifier
• Avoid drying clothes outdoors if possible
• Don’t use ceiling fans in your bedroom
• Place your hamper with the clothes you’ve worn outside in another room besides your bedroom
• Use hypoallergenic bedding

While there aren’t many studies that test the effectiveness of eating local honey on curbing allergy symptoms, it could be due to lack of funding, Dr. Timothy Wong, board-certified family medicine doctor, said to Make It in 2023.

“Unfortunately when you’re not using medications that have billions of dollars of funding for research and development, you don’t get as many clinical trials,” Wong said.

The idea behind the local honey for allergies lore is that “if you ingest the pollens that bring you discomfort, you build up an immunity against them,” Andew Cote, head beekeeper at Andrew’s Honey, told Make It.

“One spoon a day every morning is the recommended dosage,” Cote said.

A 2013 study with 40 participants found that eating honey daily for eight weeks, in addition to taking allergy medication when necessary, was associated with less allergy symptoms, compared to taking allergy medication without also eating honey.

To see potential benefits, Wong suggested eating local honey a few weeks before your allergy symptoms usually start.

Don’t try the local honey hack if you’re allergic to bees and wasps, Wong warned. And children younger than one year old should not be given honey either, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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