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Weather Changes & Allergies

Weather, specifically, does not effect allergies, but the change of season does. While spring is the season most often criticized for its allergy-spawning, summer, winter and dark fall days bring with them allergens that irritate the eyes, nose and throat. Depending on the time you spend outdoors or indoors, humidity, plant particles and damp weather conditions can ignite seasonal allergy symptoms.

  1. Misconceptions

    • You may feel sick but it might just be trapped dust and mold in your respiratory system

      Sometimes a winter cold is not a cold at all but an allergic reaction to staying inside in the cold weather. Dust--and the mold, pollen, mites and insect parts stuck in dust particles--cause allergic symptoms like sneezing, coughing and itchy skin. Continued exposure to dust--if you're stuck indoors in a snowstorm--can make you feel sick and lethargic for weeks.

    Summer Allergies

    • Bits of pollen irritate the nose

      After a strong rain, damp weather conditions--along with increased humidity--can cause allergic symptoms like a runny nose or itchy eyes. Summer allergies--which may be mistaken for a pesky summer cold--also rear up from dry weather conditions which produce a healthy environment for mold fungi which grow on dead grass, leaves and straw.

    Percentages

    • Allergies are common in all age groups and locations around the world. According to doctors Komarow MD and Postolache MD with the Laboratory of Allergic Disease, in the United States allergic diseases affect 20 to 40 million people annually, including 10 to 30 percent of adults and close to 40 percent of children.

    Athletic Allergies

    • Running and playing outdoors triggers allergic symptoms

      According to research from doctors Komarow MD and Postolache MD with the Laboratory of Allergic Disease and the Institute for Sports Chronobiology, as a result of the increase in ventilation during exercise, athletes experience significant symptoms of allergy triggered by exposure to air-born allergens like pollen and grasses. This could be considered linked to weather but the fact is that the seasonal climates trigger itchy eyes and congestion.

    Expert Advice

    • According to Web MD, as of 2010 researchers say staying inside to avoid spring allergy symptoms is most important between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., when allergen levels are highest. Setting the air conditioning to recirculate reduces the amount of allergens entering the system air conditioning unit.

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