It’s a common misconception that rainfall helps improve allergy symptoms. In reality, it’s more complicated than that. We review the effect of rain on allergies below.
How Rain Helps
It’s true that rain has a short-term positive impact on some people’s allergies. This is because trees release more pollen during dry weather, as there’s less moisture in the air to weigh the pollen down, so it can travel more easily. Light rain can wash tree pollen from the air, helping relieve the allergies of people who are allergic to this particular type of pollen.
How Rain Harms
Unfortunately, for people with other types of allergies, like grass, pollen, weed pollen, mold or dust mites, rain can have a negative effect on their allergies. When it rains, the drops hit the ground and break pollen clumps into smaller particles, causing them to disperse. This happens mostly with sudden, heavy downpours. Also, humidity in the air can cause mold and dust mite counts to jump up.
Research confirms how heavy rains worsen allergies. According to one study, “Recent reports have shown that typhoon and heavy rain increase allergic disease locally by concentration of airborne allergens of pollen, ozone, and fungus, which are causes of allergic disease… This study suggests that typhoon and heavy rain increase allergic disease apart from asthma.”
How to Prevent Allergies When It Rains
Follow these steps to prevent worsened allergies when it rains:
- Stay indoors, especially during heavy rain.
- Keep your windows closed to keep pollen out and humidity levels low.
- Run the air conditioning to filter allergens out of the air in your home.
- Bathe indoor/outdoor pets, but no more than once a week.
- Dust and vacuum regularly to manage dust mites.
- Clean mold with bleach as soon as you notice it.
- Invest in a dehumidifier to keep the humidity in your home below 50%.
- Take allergy medications approved by your pharmacist at Oak Tree Pharmacy on Commercial Street.
- Talk about immunotherapy, a long-term treatment option, with an allergist.
For more information about how rainfall affects allergies or to schedule an appointment with an expert allergist, call Willamette ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery today.
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