Above watch: While most Haligonans are enjoying the sun and warmth, allergy sufferers are preparing for what could be a tough season. Julia Wong reports.
HALIFAX – It seems spring has finally sprung in Halifax, but with the warmer weather comes a downside: seasonal allergies.
Erin Beaubien, 21, has suffered from eczema since she was a child and is resigned to what will happen as temperatures warm up.
READ MORE: Why allergy season is getting longer, and what you can do about it
Beaubien said her allergies normally start to act up at the beginning of April, but they started later this year because of the lingering effects of winter.
She said she takes a Reactine and always keeps Goldbond on hand to keep her symptoms in line.
“It’s irritating but it doesn’t interrupt my life. I always wish I could lay on the grass during the summer, but I have hay fever so what can you do?”
Dr. Greg Rex, a pediatric allergy and immunology specialist at Halifax Allergy and Asthma, said the tree pollen season is finally upon Haligonians.
“Our tree pollen allergic patients are just starting to complain now,” he said, adding the tree pollen season will linger for a few weeks before the grass pollen season begins.
However, he said there is some good news regarding the length of the allergy season.
“I don’t think the fact our summer started late means we’re going to get more on the other end,” he said.
Evolutionary biologist Mark Johnston, who is also a professor at Dalhousie University, said the amount of pollen that gets released this spring was determined by conditions last year.
” The cold this year won’t impact the amount of pollen really. It just impacts the time,” he said.
“As for how long the real allergy season will last, that’s really largely a function of how much pollen there is, not the conditions this year,” he said, adding the amount of pollen can’t be easily predicted.
Johnston said the delayed season is the result of the cooler than normal temperatures.
Louis Brill, the president and CEO of the Lung Association of Nova Scotia, said people with asthma should see their doctor to come up with a proper treatment plan.
“If you don’t treat your asthma properly, you’ll have unnecessary exacerbation, which can cause hospitalization and really unnecessary downtown,” he said.
“We want to be out enjoying this beautiful weather not inside suffering at the hospital. The key to that is treating your asthma appropriately.”
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