Colorado has a range of allergy seasons based on what is growing at the time.

“My symptoms are a super stuffy nose, lots and lots of sneezing, and sometimes red, irritated eyes,” Tatum Levering ‘27.

University of Colorado Boulder wrote, “Over 25 percent of adults in the U.S. suffer from seasonal allergies, but scientists have struggled to track allergy trends because cases don’t always require medical care.”

What Different Seasons Bring

Winter symptoms aren’t very prominent because of snow and plants dying because of the cold. Although people can still experience symptoms because of indoor allergens like dust and pet hair.

Spring brings tree pollen like elm, cottonwood, aspen, juniper, cedar, oak, and maple, making spring the heaviest allergy symptom season.

Summer brings grass, tumbleweed, and sagebrush allergies.

Fall allergies are most commonly caused by weeds, with ragweed being the most common because it can last longer in colder weather.

“My allergies are the worst when class is quiet because all I do is sneeze and sneeze,” Levering said, “I’ve had teachers keep track of how much I sneeze and give me my own box of tissues.”

Cires Colorado made a dot density and proportional symbol map created to show the Z-scores (density) of allergies in the US.

“Stallard-Olivera and Fierer calculated Z-scores, a measure of how far away a data point is from the average, for U.S. counties with populations greater than 500,000.”

My Experience

For me, spring, summer and fall are the worst for my allergies. My symptoms start around spring break in March and last until October. What helps me is to take Equate Allergy Relief (Cetirizine Hydrochloride) and Zyrtec (cetirizine) when I have skin itchiness or hives and sinus headaches. I also use a nasal spray like Flonase (fluticasone) and Xlear (saline). I have tried AstePro (azelastine) and it caused severe stomach pains for me, but symptoms vary for each individual. I am heavily sensitive to pollen and ragweed, so I experience allergy symptoms for about eight months of the year.

If you take Benadryl (diphenhydramine) to cover all your symptoms with one pill, aim to take it in the evening to prevent drowsiness. From personal experience, one Benadryl liquid gel has knocked me out, and I slept for 12 hours. I do not recommend sleeping with your window open at night if you are sensitive to pollen.

IMPORTANT

Read the drug facts and directions prior to use. Most drugs are not recommended to be taken for long periods of time.

Information and drug names from GoodRX

The most common nasal sprays to take when you have allergy symptoms are…

1. Flonase Allergy Relief (fluticasone)
2. Nasacort Allergy 24 Hour (triamcinolone)
3. Astepro Allergy (azelastine).

The most common allergy pills are…

1.  Claritin (loratadine)
2.  Zyrtec (cetirizine)
3.  Benadryl (diphenhydramine)

“I take Costco brand allergy pills and Zertec,” Levering said.