Horticulturists prepare for allergy season, doctors advise on pollen

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – While most of us look forward to warmer temperatures, doctors are reminding us they also signal the start of allergy season. Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the country.

Every year, more than 50 million Americans deal with some kind of allergy the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology has found. Gardening experts emphasize that being outdoors for longer periods of time means knowing how to manage the higher amounts of pollen.

“I wanted to be outside working with the plants,” Green Bay Botanical Garden horticulture manager, Lindsay Hendricks, shared. “There is something to be said about being out in nature. It’s very therapeutic. Especially in recent years we find that it’s very nice to be outside, get some fresh air and do something that relaxes you.”

Hendricks has been working at Green Bay Botanical Garden for 12 years. The horticulture manager said that while she does sometimes get bothered by all the pollen in her outdoor workplace, it’s worth it to be able to call nature her office.

As the sun starts to come out and the snow continues to melt away, spring flowers called snowdrops begin to take over. These snowdrops and other blooming flowers are producing pollen which you can monitor through the WBAY daily pollen count if you’re worried about going outside and suffering from symptoms. To help ease itchy eyes and a runny nose, doctors recommend that “there are several different nasal sprays,” Dr. Jeffry Shaw, an allergist with Prevea Health, highlighted. “We focus on ones called nasal steroid sprays that would be examples like: Nasonex, Nasacort, Flonase, and generics are also available out there for many of those too.”

However, outdoor allergies aren’t the only problem for Wisconsites.

“We also know that there are indoor triggers that can bother people as well,” Rachel Chastain, an allergy family nurse practitioner at Bellin Health, emphasized. “Those allergy sufferers are actually anxious to open up their windows and get outdoors. It just depends on what your triggers are and what management strategy you’re deciding to pursue.”

“I will deal with the pollen allergies, seasonal allergies, versus being cooped up inside any day,” Hendricks said.

Health experts recommend avoiding triggers whenever possible by watching those pollen counts online. Plus, taking medication either prescribed or over-the-counter. Along with potentially visiting an allergist if your symptoms are really bad which could also lead to allergy shots that can help change your immune system’s response to allergy triggers.

Annie Krall is a former writer and producer for ABC NEWS New York City on the national medical and business units. Prior to that position, she was accepted to medical school her senior year at Northwestern University, after spending four years as a pre-medical student. However, Krall deferred her acceptance to pursue a Master in Health, Environment, and Science Journalism at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.

Copyright 2022 WBAY. All rights reserved.