Spring allergy season brings millions of sneezing and wheezing Americans to pharmacy aisles, health food stores and doctors’ offices looking for relief. The causes and treatments of seasonal allergies are still the subject of some persistent myths. One common myth is that blooming flowers cause allergies. Actually, springtime allergies are mostly caused by tree pollen, not flowers.

Trees have to engage in sex by proxy, using either the wind or animals such as insects, to get pollen from one tree to another. Plants with pretty flowers, nectar and scent such as redbud, buckeye and crabapples, for example, attract insects for pollination. They make pollen that is designed to adhere to their pollinators’ bodies. Flower pollen is large, sticky and produced in small amounts, so it is unlikely to be floating around in the air, and won’t lead to allergies.

The pollen that is most bothersome is the pollen we can’t see because it’s small enough to get into our nose and lungs, creating an allergic reaction. Wind pollinated trees such as juniper, oaks, hickories, willow, maples, elms, birch, and poplars are what make you miserable. Since wind-pollinated trees have no need to attract insects, they don’t have big, showy flowers. Wind-pollinated trees produce enormous quantities of pollen. This pollen is extremely light weight and buoyant, traveling up to 100 miles. This means that you’re probably not always reacting to the birch tree in your own yard. It has been estimated that a mature American elm may produce billions of pollen grains, but only a very small percentage of these will result in fertilization. March through June are peak pollen months in Minnesota.

What you can do:

• Wear long sleeves and long pants when mowing the grass
• Sleep with windows closed and drive with windows up
• Beware of tracking pollen into homes (kids, pets especially, newspaper sleeves, and on shorts and jackets)
• Shower and wash hair after extended outdoor exposure
• Wear wrap-around sunglasses or glasses outdoors to limit exposure of pollen to eyes
• Avoid wearing contact lenses, or switch to daily disposable contacts to avoid allergens building up on the lenses
• Wash hands and face frequently, including eyebrows
• Change pillowcases often

As many as 80 million people in the United States every year report allergies.

Arborvitae produce highly allergenic pollen.

The horse chestnut tree is an example of a non-allergenic tree because it has big showy flowers.

Maple tree pollen is a common allergen that causes seasonal allergies. 

Birch pollinates through catkin type structures which hang from the branches.