Pollen is coming.
It's amassing its forces, planning its attack and traveling with the wind — pollen and spring allergies are on their way.
With the lack of snow disappointing many students across USC’s campus, it appears that the time for winter has ended, and spring is waiting just around the corner.
For many students, the spring season is a chance to get out and throw the Frisbee around the Horseshoe, but for many other students, spring brings around their dreaded spring allergies.
Pollen is planning its comeback and it’s not going to be pretty.
According to Dr. Greg Black, a physician specializing in allergy and clinical immunology at Carolina Allergy and Asthma Consultants, nasal congestion, itchy, watery eyes and sneezing are the main symptoms of seasonal spring allergies. It’s also not uncommon for patients to exhibit asthmatic symptoms.
Black said the seasonal allergies in Columbia are generally caused by pollen from the trees in the early spring and shifts more toward pollen from grasses in the later spring months.
The worst months for symptoms?
If you’re what Black calls “exquisitely sensitive,” you can expect to start to feel symptoms in March, but for most, it’s April to May that’s the true battle ground.
Columbia, South Carolina has been ranked the 14th most challenging place to live with spring allergies, according to a 2014 study done by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
And according to that same study, it looks like pollen could continue to be on the rise.
The pollen count, or the amount of allergens in the air in grains per cubic meter, is the quickest way to evaluate the severity of spring allergies during the season.
The pollen count on Tuesday was sitting at 0.3, but is set to increase for the rest of the week, projected at 10.3 on Wednesday and 11.7 on Thursday.
“If students aren’t symptomatic, the worst thing they’re going to have to deal with is washing the stuff off their car,” Black said. “If they are allergic, they need to find a medicine that is not only a good treatment medicine but is also a good preventative.”
Kim Young, the Pharmacy Manager at Assembly Street's CVS, suggested the best way to combat spring allergies is by pre-emptively starting to take over-the-counter antihistamines like Zyrtec and Allegra, while Black suggested nasal steroid sprays.
Either way, they could agree on one thing: it’s important for students to find something that works for them and “stick with it.”