2 minute read
Moore Healthy
April Showers Bring Seasonal Allergies for Many Oklahomans
pril showers bring May flowers but for many Oklahomans April also means spring allergy season. Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, is an allergy to pollen or mold that affects up to 50 million people in the United States each spring. Oklahoma City is ranked No. 9 on the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s 2020 Allergy Capitals list. A
Advertisement
An allergy is your body’s immune system mistaking an otherwise harmless substance such as pollen, pet dander, or nuts, as a threat. Allergies occur when your immune system responds to this harmless substance by producing antibodies designed to protect the body from foreign threats. These antibodies from an overprotective immune system trigger the release of histamines. Symptoms of seasonal allergies include a stuffy and/or runny nose, itchy watery eyes, sneezing, postnasal drip and other bothersome symptoms.
During the spring season tree pollen and mold are the most common seasonal allergy triggers. Gusty spring winds carry the small tree pollen cells easily. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, there are 11 types of trees that are common triggers of hay fever in the spring: oak, western red cedar, sycamore, maple, elm, birch, ash, cypress, walnut, hickory, and poplar. Oklahoma’s main seasonal allergy offenders are elm, oak, mesquite, cedar and mulberry trees. Mold is considered a year-round allergy but can be especially troublesome to allergy sufferers in the spring when damp and rainy weather is often followed by warmer temperatures creating a high concentration of mold.
So, how can you nip seasonal allergies in the bud? You can reduce your exposure to allergy triggers by staying indoors on windy days and when you’ve been outside make sure to shower to rinse pollen from your hair and skin, especially before you go to bed. After washing your cloths avoid handing laundry outside since pollen can stick to sheets and towels. Keep doors and windows closed when pollen counts are high.
For many allergy sufferers, avoiding allergens and taking over-thecounter medications alleviate their symptoms enough for them to get through the season. But, if hay fever symptoms are still making you miserable it is time to talk with your doctor about additional treatment. Norman Regional has seven primary care providers located in Moore, 16 in Norman, and five in South Oklahoma City including Dr. Megan Hanner who recently joined Norman Regional’s Primary Care South Oklahoma City Clinic located at 2605 S.W. 119th Street. If you don’t have a primary care physician we would love to help you find the perfect provider to fit you and your family’s health needs. You can contact the Norman Regional Community Call Center at 405-515-5000 or email nrhs_communitycall@nrh-ok.com.
SPECIAL NOTE
Information on the coronavirus, called COVID-19, evolves as this situation develops. For up-to-date reliable information on COVID-19 please refer to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at www.cdc.gov, the Oklahoma State Department of Health at www.ok.gov/health/, and the Norman Regional Health System homepage at www.normanregional.com.
