Summer Grass Allergies

If you’ve suffered through a cold winter or a rainy spring, summer may feel like a miracle-unless you have allergies! Spring’s moisture can raise up verdant lawns, ready to pollinate during the first weeks of summer. Blankets of grass look lovely, but they can quickly drain the fun out of summer for allergy sufferers.

Grass allergies are triggered by microscopic grass pollen that are carried through the air on breezy summer days. Once grass pollen penetrates the body, the immune system mistakes it for an invader. The body reacts by releasing chemicals into the body to try to flush out the grass pollen. Unfortunately, those chemicals lead to:

• sneezing
• itchy eyes
• runny nose
• asthma
• sore throat

Not all grasses are allergy-causing, but a few of the worst offenders include:

• Bermuda
• Johnson
• Kentucky Bluegrass
• Meadow Fescue
• Rye
• Timothy

Having grass allergy does not have to take all of the fun out of summer. Here are some ways to minimize the effects of your grass allergy.

• Outsource the mowing! If grass is your nemesis, leave it to the professionals.
• Make sure your lawn stays short. Most grasses don’t pollinate until they start to grow tall.
• Check the weather update and note the pollen count. Stay indoors during high grass pollen count days.
• Keep windows and doors closed.
• When allergies unavoidably strike, try an over-the-counter antihistamine to reduce symptoms.

Medications like Claritin, Benadryl, and Flonase provide good short-term relief, but if you find yourself depending on them daily to make it through one
grass season after another, you may be a candidate for immunotherapy-either through allergy shots or sublingual allergy drops.  Click here to read more about how sublingual immunotherapy drops can treat your grass allergy. Talk to an AllergyEasy allergy doctor for more details.