Facts, Prevention, and Relief for Ash Tree Allergies for 2024
Beat your allergies forever.
Get Started With WyndlyAsh trees are common trees that are quite beautiful, especially when their leaves change in fall. They also have valuable timber that is used in a variety of applications. Of course, if you have ash allergies, these trees are probably much less appealing, no matter how nice they look.
Fortunately, ash allergies are very manageable and even treatable in many cases. If you’re looking for long-term relief from your ash allergies, you can get help from Wyndly. Our doctors can create a personalized treatment plan to address your ash allergies.
Schedule a consultation with Wyndly today to get started, or read on to learn more about ash allergies.
Common Symptoms
Allergy symptoms can range in severity. Some people may experience mild allergies, while others might have more intense symptoms during allergy season.
Here are some of the most common symptoms you might experience if you have ash tree allergies:
- Runny nose
- Coughing
- Congestion
- Sneezing
- Scratchy throat
- Itchy eyes
- Watery eyes
- Aggravated symptoms if you have asthma
When the pollen count is high, your allergy symptoms may get worse, or you may experience more symptoms than usual.
Where Is Ash Found?
There are a variety of ash tree species, with around 45 to 60 species found in the world. Perhaps one of the most common is the white ash, which can be found throughout much of the eastern and central United States. Other less common species can be found in most of the United States, making ash pollen hard to avoid for allergy sufferers. They can be found in yards, along streets, in forests, and many other locations.
When Is Ash Pollen Allergy Season?
Ash pollen allergies can start as early as January in warmer parts of the country, with April being the typical beginning of ash pollen season for the central and eastern states. Ash pollen allergy season will usually begin to taper off in May.
Foods to Avoid
A cross-reactivity with certain foods can cause an allergic reaction known as OAS or oral allergy syndrome. With oral allergy syndrome, your mouth may feel itchy or tingly, with the symptoms usually subsiding quickly. However, if you do have a more severe reaction where you have trouble breathing, you need to seek emergency medical attention.
Though there aren’t foods specific to ash tree pollen, the ash tree is in the same family as the olive tree, meaning you may experience OAS from olive-related foods due to the similarities of the pollen.
These are some foods you may want to avoid if you have ash tree allergies:
- Peaches
- Pears
- Melons
- Kiwis
- Bananas
- Pineapples
Testing and Diagnosis
With airborne allergens like pollen, it can be difficult to ascertain the specific cause of your allergies. Many trees produce pollen at the same time of year, and the allergy season can intersect with grass allergy season as well. It’s best to get an allergy test so you can find out what is causing your allergies. Wyndly makes allergy testing easy and convenient with our at-home allergy tests. Buy your at-home test today to learn your allergy profile!
Let’s examine how different allergy testing options work:
Old-Fashioned Method: Skin Prick Test at Your Doctor’s Office
Skin prick testing requires you to go to the doctor to find out your allergen triggers. It’s often uncomfortable, and it takes time out of your day. You’ll go to the doctor’s office, they’ll administer a test where they prick or scrape your skin with a needle tipped with different allergens, and then they’ll observe the areas they pricked for itchiness, redness, or swelling. All in all, it’s not a pleasant experience. Instead, you can save yourself time and pain by getting an at-home test.
Modern and Efficient At-Home Method
- Get Wyndly’s at-home allergy test. We ship our CLIA-certified test straight to your door.
- Take the allergy test and send it back to us. Just do a quick finger prick test to provide us with a blood sample and mail it back when you’re done.
- Receive your allergy profile. Our doctor will interpret your results, create an allergy profile, and walk you through a treatment plan.
Unlike self-diagnosis, an allergy test can reveal the full breadth of your allergies. This way you know exactly what you’re allergic to and how you can treat your symptoms.
Treatment and Remedies
When allergy season arrives, your allergy symptoms may be intense enough to affect your daily life or make you feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, some remedies and treatments can help you with your ash allergy symptoms.
These are some you may want to try:
Limiting Exposure
Limiting your exposure to your allergen can help reduce the severity and frequency of your allergy symptoms. While pollen can be difficult to avoid completely, there are steps you can take to make it easier.
- Watch the pollen count: Make it a habit to check the pollen count when you wake up in the morning. If pollen levels are high, you’ll want to stay indoors as much as possible on that day. If you do go outside, try wearing an N95 dust mask and sunglasses to keep pollen out of your mouth, nose, and eyes.
- Trim ash trees: Sometimes it can help to reduce pollen concentration around your home if you trim the branches of ash trees in the immediate vicinity. Trees produce less pollen when their branches are trimmed. Keep in mind this isn’t a complete solution, as tree pollen can travel for miles.
- Wash more often: It’s a good idea to shower more frequently during allergy season. This way you can rinse pollen off your skin and hair when you get home. You should at least wash your hands and face well after being outside for an extended period.
- Clean your home: Make sure to clean your home more often during allergy season. Use a HEPA filter vacuum for floors, furniture, and carpet. For other hard surfaces, dust with a wet rag.
- Close windows: Pollen can easily get in through your open windows. Keep windows closed during allergy season and run the A/C instead.
- Remove your shoes: Be sure to take your shoes off when you get home so you don’t track in pollen.
- Do laundry: Doing laundry more often helps ensure you don’t have pollen on your clothes. Avoid drying your clothes outside on the line.
- Wipe off your pets: When your pets come inside, use a towel or rag to wipe off their paws and fur so they don’t bring in excess pollen.
- Avoid the aforementioned foods: Do your best to avoid ash-related foods.
Medications
Medications can also be useful for providing short-term relief from allergy symptoms. There are several allergy meds you may want to consider for symptom management.
-
Over-the-counter: Over-the-counter medications are widely available, come in a variety of options, and are effective for managing the most common allergy symptoms. Here are some you may want to try:
- Antihistamines: Antihistamines temporarily inhibit histamine response, providing you with relief from several allergy symptoms.
- Nasal sprays: Nasal sprays are good for relieving symptoms of stuffy and runny noses. They work by reducing swelling and inflammation in the nasal passages.
- Eye drops: Eye drops can help flush pollen out of your eyes, reducing itchiness, watering, and redness.
- Prescription: If OTC allergy meds aren’t doing the trick, you may want to consult your doctor about possible prescription options. This is usually the last resort for symptom management.
Sublingual Immunotherapy
Managing symptoms can provide short-term relief and get you through allergy season, but it doesn’t treat your allergies at their source. If you want allergy treatment, consider sublingual immunotherapy. Sublingual immunotherapy introduces small, gradually increasing doses of an allergen substance to your system, retraining your immune system to ignore these substances instead of triggering an immune response. With sublingual immunotherapy, you can find long-term relief from allergies.
Get Long-Term Relief With Wyndly
When you’re ready to find lifelong relief from your ash allergies, Wyndly can help. First, we’ll conduct an allergy consultation to learn about your allergens and determine your allergy profile. This will allow our doctors to create a personalized allergy treatment plan designed to provide you with long-term relief.
Schedule your allergy consultation with Wyndly today to get started!
Ash Tree FAQs
Below are some frequently asked questions about ash allergies.
Can I just get rid of ash trees from my yard?
Ash trees can get very big and can be quite difficult to remove. You may be better off just trimming branches, which can also reduce pollen production. Keep in mind that nearby ash trees will still be producing pollen that can travel for miles.
Can I move to a state without ash trees?
Ash trees can be found in most regions of the United States. Seeking treatment is usually an easier solution
When will ash pollen be the worst?
You can expect ash pollen to peak in March and April before gradually tapering off.
