Riddle: What time of the year is it in Central Texas when everywhere you look, people are sniffling, sneezing, have red, watery eyes and walk around saying things like “I feel horrible”?
As just about anybody who lives here can tell you, the answer to the riddle is well known – it’s cedar fever time again.
“Since December, the number of patients coming in with allergy symptoms has increased dramatically,” said Dr. Henry Legere, who operates an allergy and immunology practice in Bastrop. “With the drought this year causing dry and windy conditions, there was a high cedar count starting the second week in December.”
According to Legere, the reason why people in Central Texas experience allergy symptoms this time of year while most other places in the Northern Hemisphere do not is because their trees pollinate only during the months of March through October. Trees in Central Texas, on the other hand, pollinate year-round.
He said that most of his patients are suffering from typical airborne allergy symptoms, including sinus and nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing and itchy and watery eyes.
“The pollen likes to stick to people’s fat,” Legere said. “It then gets stuck in their sinuses and can cause infections.”
Dr. Ron Cox, an allergist and immunologist in Bastrop, said he treats eight to 10 new patients a day for cedar allergies.
“Cedar is the main allergy at this time of year,” Cox said. “It is seasonal, whereas other things that may be in the air, like mold and dust mites, are year-round.”
Even though only about 20 percent of the trees in Bastrop State Park are cedar, park manager Doug Huggins said that some people he works with are suffering from being outside all the time.
“There are a couple guys who have drainage and a dry cough,” Huggins said.
Legere said that the second week in January is usually the peak time for cedar pollination. During that time, the pollen present is between 6,000 and 12,000 parts per million, he said.
“People will notice yellow covering their cars, and they will be feeling the most miserable,” Legere said.
Because allergy symptoms are fairly similar to that of a cold, Legere pointed out a few symptoms that differentiate the two.
He said that if a person has a fever, they typically have something other than allergies.
On the other hand, if they are the only one in their family that is experiencing those symptoms and it happens to them at the same time every year, then it usually is allergies.
“Allergies usually always run in families, so you really cannot prevent yourself from getting them,” Legere said. “However, once you have them, try not to go outside on days with a high pollen count, change clothing and bedding frequently, wash pets and get allergy shots.”
As a one-time allergy sufferer himself, Legere said that he received a maintenance dose of allergy shots for a short period and no longer suffers from allergies.