Ragweed allergy season nears peak in Western Pennsylvania

Summer’s end may have some unlucky Western Pennsylvania residents sneezing, battling congestion and squinting through itchy eyes. That’s because ragweed allergy season is about to hit its peak.

This time of year is peak for weed pollen — primarily ragweed — according to Dr. Russell Traister, a pediatric allergy/immunology physician at Allegheny Health Network’s Pediatric Institute.

“It’s one of the main allergens in Western Pennsylvania,” he said of ragweed. “If people say their allergies are worse in the fall, more times than not, it’s due to ragweed.”

Specific allergies vary depending on where people live in Pennsylvania, said Dr. Nathan Hare, allergist and immunologist at UPMC Allergy and Immunology in Williamsport. For seasonal allergies, tree pollen usually shows up in spring, grass pollen in summer and weed pollen late in the summer and into fall. Weed pollen can show up as early as July, he said, and it lasts through the first heavy frost.

Ragweed is one of the most common allergens in the country — causing itchy eyes, a runny nose, congestion, sneezing and itching.

Another symptom of being allergic to ragweed is fatigue. The plant can make people tired and moody. A study by the National Institute of Health that allergy patients had higher levels of tiredness and reduced motivation during ragweed season.

Around the region, the late-summer/fall allergy season has been worsening over the past few years, said Dr. Bob Gorby, an allergist who owns Westmoreland Allergy and Asthma Associates in Greensburg and is a consultant for Independence Health System.

Mold allergies will also show up later in the fall alongside ragweed, once it gets more damp and rainy outside. Ragweed season is expected to peak next week around Labor Day.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, 50 million Americans get symptoms from ragweed allergies. One of the foundation’s studies showed that “ragweed pollen could be seven times higher in a city that averaged 3.6 degrees warmer and had 30% more carbon dioxide than the city’s rural surrounding area.”

From about mid-August until frost in either late September or early October, ragweed specifically is prevalent, according to Gorby.

“Once it drops below 32 degrees … it’ll kill all the pollen,” he said.

Traister said the first frost can arrive as late as November in Western Pennsylvania.

“It’s probably going to continue to be more severe,” Gorby said of fall allergy season. “It’ll probably be a little bit longer and … more intense, too.”

Milder winters can cause allergy seasons to last longer due to delayed frost.

“This particular spring and summer, pollen started earlier and lasted longer,” Gorby said, which could be an indicator of how this fall will go. “Every year you hear how bad, but this year’s tree and grass pollen season really was more extended than in the past.”

Traister said he’s waiting to see how this fall’s allergy season will go.

“In recent years, the pollen counts tend to be increasing every year, so I won’t be surprised if that happens,” he said. “Until we get the numbers, it will be hard to say specifically until peak.”

Treating allergies

An allergy occurs when someone’s immune system reacts and the immune system has essentially gotten confused, Hare said.

According to Hare, there are three broad categories of how allergies can be treated:

1. Minimizing exposure to allergens

Since allergens are found pretty much everywhere in the air outside in the fall, Hare said people are limited with what they can do in terms of limiting exposure.

“Going out in the afternoon, symptoms may be a little bit better — but no guarantee,” he said.

Hare recommended using central air conditioning rather than window units, as window units aren’t able to properly filter out pollen and mold.

People who are allergic to ragweed should keep doors and windows shut in their homes and cars, take showers and wash their face after being outside and routinely change filters in their air conditioning.

Gorby also suggested taking showers and changing clothes as soon as people get indoors.

“The pollen can stick on you,” he said. “That’s always a good tip.”

2. Immunotherapy

This can be in the form of allergy shots, for example, according to Hare, which attempt to desensitize the body to allergens by starting with a low dose.

“They try to retrain your immune system,” he said of the shots. “Allergy shots work fairly well for pollen.”

However, Hare said allergy shots can take about six to 12 months to kick in.

The FDA also approved RAGWITEK, which is an immunotherapy specifically for ragweed, which people can take via pill before and during fall allergy season, but Hare said it usually isn’t covered by insurance.

3. Medications

Allergists recommended over-the-counter medications for allergies such as antihistamines Allegra, Zyrtec and Claritin and nasal sprays like Flonase and Nasacort.

Gorby recommended Allegra and Zyrtec over Clairtin, or even Benadryl for overnight symptoms.

“Benadryl works quickly,” he said. “It will be out of one’s system by morning.”

Hare also recommended sinus rinses with salt water and squeeze bottles, as well as eye drops.

“It helps to some extent, but it’s not perfect,” he said of medications.

Allergists can test and confirm people’s allergies, Traister said, in order to come up with a treatment plan.

“You don’t have to suffer,” he said. “We can usually come up with some treatment plan … maybe next year your symptoms will not be so bad.”