Spring allergies in Canada

While many look forward to spring and the end of winter, many more are torn. They look forward to the warmer weather too, but they also realize that they will suffer from the allergies that invariably crop up at this time of year. While allergies can happen all year long, many seem to occur with the onset of spring. It’s possibly the fact winter does not cause many outdoor seasonal allergies that it feels worse in the spring. Your immune system has not had time to get used to the symptoms or you have not yet started taking helpful medications or steps to combat them.

Spring is the time when the Earth awakes from what seems like its everlasting slumber; many of the flowers, trees and bushes start to bloom, grass starts to turn green and grow again, insects start spreading pollen around from plant to plant again, and the crops begin to grow again. The Earth becomes a veritable breeding ground for allergies.

It has been stated that 1 in 6 Canadian’s suffer from seasonal allergies and that they are 66% more likely to have these allergies if both parents also suffered from allergies. The worst months for allergies in Canada are from March until November. So, basically most are not bothered by seasonal allergies for only 3 months out of a year.

Different seasons have different allergy triggers in Canada. In spring it’s mostly trees, in summer it’s mostly grasses and weeds, and in the fall it’s mostly ragweed.

Some choose to just suffer through their allergies as a fact of life. However, there are many ways to combat seasonal allergies. You can limit the amount of time you spend around those allergy triggers, that means keeping your windows and doors closed and having a decent filter in your home. There are also many over-the-counter medications that are designed to combat certain types of allergies. One natural treatment that can be helpful is using a neti pot regularly to clean out your sinuses.  If you know you are more allergic to certain trees and plants, make sure you don’t plant them around your home. If you already have certain trees in your garden that make your allergies worse you can remove them and replant trees that will not bother you as much. Trees such as apple, cherry and magnolia are known not to cause allergies.

There are many types of trees and flowers that you can plant in your garden that will not cause seasonal allergies. While WebMD has a more comprehensive list on their website, which also gives you a list of what types are the worst for allergies, here is a small sampling of the best.

Trees best for allergies

• Apple
• Cherry
• Dogwood
• English Holly
• Magnolia
• Plum
• Red Maple
• Rubber

Flowers best for allergies

• Begonia
• Cactus
• Crocus
• Daffodil
• Geranium
• Lily
• Rose
• Tulip

While seasonal allergies don’t usually cause more serious illnesses (they can lead to asthma) or are not life threatening does not mean they should not be taken seriously. When someone sees you coughing, sees your eyes are all puffy and sees that you have trouble breathing and asks if you have a cold, don’t slough it off as “just allergies.” Take steps to improve the quality of your life. You don’t want your seasonal allergies to keep you from enjoying the reawakening of the Earth.