Facts, Prevention, and Relief for Maryland Allergies in 2024
Beat your allergies forever.
Get Started With WyndlyMaryland is a state with fairly mild weather year-round, but residents do experience all four seasons. This means those with seasonal allergies will have some relief in winter, but the rest of the year can cause issues.
Indoor allergens like mold, dust mites, and pet dander are always present, but what can you do to manage your symptoms when pollen allergens are in the air? Being familiar with each season’s primary allergens can make it much easier to limit exposure and treat your symptoms.
Wyndly can create a personalized treatment plan for you, targeting your specific Maryland allergens along with other environmental allergies you experience. Schedule a consult with our doctors to get started with lifelong allergy relief, or keep reading to learn more about Maryland allergy season.
When Is Maryland Allergy Season?
Maryland follows a fairly typical allergy season schedule. The winters are cold enough to prevent pollen production, and the rest of the year creates good conditions for trees, grass, weeds, and other plant life to thrive. Usually, Maryland allergy season will end around November and start back up in late February to early March.
Allergens by Season
Each season in Maryland comes with its own set of allergens. Let’s look at each season and the allergies that come with it.
Summer
Grass pollen is most prevalent in summertime. The biggest contributor to allergies in summer is Bermuda grass.
Fall
When fall hits Maryland, ragweed becomes the primary concern for allergy sufferers. Wormwood, sagebrush, orache, and amaranth can also cause issues.
Winter
Once the winter frost comes in, allergy sufferers can breathe a sigh of relief — at least for a few months. With that being said, it’s important to be mindful of indoor allergens during this time.
Spring
For springtime in Maryland, allergy sufferers will typically have the most problems with oak, hickory, ash, and maple pollen.
Common Allergens
Maryland shares many common allergens with the rest of the United States. The presence of trees, weeds, and grass contribute significant amounts of pollen to the Maryland air each year. Outside of seasonal allergies, dust mites, pollution, and mold can be primary triggers for indoor allergies.
Common Symptoms
Maryland residents can expect to experience several common allergy symptoms, including:
- Runny nose
- Coughing
- Congestion
- Sneezing
- Headaches
- Scratchy throat
- Itchy eyes
- Watery eyes
- Hives
- Asthma symptoms
As always, reactions will vary from person to person, but in general, allergies will cause one or more of these symptoms to occur.
Allergens Around the State
Depending on where you live in Maryland, certain plants will be more common. The common allergenic plants in your area can help you narrow down the cause of your seasonal allergies. Let’s take a look at some of the most common pollen producers in Maryland’s larger cities.
Hagerstown/Cumberland
The Hagerstown/Cumberland area has the typical trees, grass, weeds cycle from spring to fall. For tree allergies, allergy sufferers should watch out for oak, hickory, walnut, ash, and mulberry. Grass allergies will likely be attributed to bent, sweet vernal, and timothy grass. For weeds, ragweed and amaranth are ones to avoid.
Baltimore/Rockville
For the Baltimore/Rockville area, the primary sources of tree pollen are oak, hickory, and ash. The grass allergens are usually related to Bermuda grass. For the weed allergies, watch out for orache, wormwood, amaranth, and sagebrush.
Annapolis/Waldorf
In the Annapolis/Waldorf areas, the most allergenic trees include oak, maple, cedar, and willow. For grass allergies, Bermuda, bent, fescue, and rye can cause the most issues. As for weeds, ragweed and Russian thistle are the worst offenders.
Ocean City/Salisbury
In Ocean City/Salisbury, tree pollen allergies are usually from oak, maple, walnut, willow, and cedar pollen. Grass allergies can usually be attributed to Bermuda, timothy, and orchard grass. For weeds, ragweed, amaranth, and sagebrush are the main issues.
Testing and Diagnosis
If you’re not sure what’s causing your seasonal allergies, you’re not alone. There’s so much pollen in the air during summer, spring, and fall that it can be impossible to know which pollen is causing your allergy symptoms. Fortunately, an allergy test can reveal all of your allergens without the guesswork. With Wyndly’s pain-free and convenient at-home test, you don’t even have to go to the doctor. Buy your Wyndly allergy test today and get it delivered straight to your door.
Here’s 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 personal allergy profile. Our doctor will interpret your results, create an allergy profile, and walk you through a treatment plan.
Treatment and Remedies
When you’re suffering from allergies, there are several treatments you can try to find relief from your symptoms. Let’s take a look at some of these methods.
Limit Exposure
Limiting exposure is the first thing you should try when you want to relieve symptoms. When you know what you’re allergic to, it can be easier to avoid that allergen.
- Watch the pollen count: If the pollen count is high, it’s best to stay inside as much as possible. You can check the pollen count using an app or website. If you do need to go outside, try wearing an N95 mask and sunglasses to keep the allergens off your face. It’s also helpful to go out later in the day, as pollen tends to peak in the morning hours.
- Take your shoes off in the house: Take your shoes off when you get home to avoid tracking pollen in.
- Vacuum frequently: Use a HEPA filter vacuum to reduce the overall pollen levels in your home.
- Do laundry often: Pollen is sticky, so it’s easy for it to get on your clothes when you’ve been outside. Doing laundry often will help to alleviate this issue (as will avoiding drying your clothes outside).
- Take showers after being outside: If you’ve been outside all day, it’s a good idea to take a shower and get the pollen off your body and out of your hair.
- Use your A/C: Although it’s tempting to open your windows on a nice day, keeping them closed will limit the pollen that can get in. Run your A/C instead. Installing a HEPA filter on your air conditioner can help filter out allergens as well.
Medication
Limiting exposure isn’t enough for many people. If your allergy symptoms are making you miserable, you can try over-the-counter allergy meds to help manage them. The most common and widely available options are antihistamines, nasal sprays, and eye drops. Keep in mind that allergy medications will usually only provide you with short-term relief.
Sublingual Immunotherapy Allergy Drops
Medications and limiting your exposure are great ways to get short-term relief from your symptoms. But if you’re wanting long-term relief, you may want to try sublingual immunotherapy allergy drops. Immunotherapy introduces small, incrementally increasing doses of our allergen to your immune system. Over time, your immune system is trained to recognize these substances as harmless instead of a threat. Allergy drops are safe and pain-free, unlike allergy shots, and they don’t require frequent visits to the doctor.
Beat Your Allergies With Wyndly
If you’re looking for long-term relief from your allergies, let Wyndly help. We’ll create a personalized treatment plan that will address your allergies at the source instead of just managing your symptoms in the short term.
Get your personalized treatment plan today to experience lifelong allergy relief!
Maryland Allergy FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about Maryland allergies.
How long is Maryland’s allergy season?
Maryland allergy season starts in early spring and ends in late fall.
Why is allergy season so bad in Maryland?
Maryland allergy seasons can be bad, depending on your allergens. If you have problems with any of the highly allergenic plants in the state, living in Maryland may make symptom management more difficult.
Is Maryland a good state if you have allergies?
Maryland is fairly average for allergies, with winter usually providing a respite for seasonal sufferers.
When is the Maryland allergy season?
It is typically from early March to late November.
What are the worst months?
April, June, and September tend to be the worst months.
