Tree pollen came back strong in March, fueling allergy season in Portland

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - The Pacific Northwest is now in the height of tree pollen season, and if you feel like allergy season came on strong and suddenly this spring, there could be several reasons for that.

Plus, the pink blossoms and yellow dusting on your car aren’t really what’s causing you allergies.

“The pollen that you see is really not the pollen that’s bothering you. The pollen that’s visible to the naked eye and the blooming trees, those grains of pollen are really too big to pass through the mucous membranes, so they’re considered not very allergenic but when they’re there and we see pollen on the car and when we see trees blooming that means those other trees that do have those small grains of pollen that do get through our mucous membranes are also pollinating,” Emily Trevillyan, Nurse Manager at Allergy Clinic in Portland said.

She said allergy seasons vary year to year but as the weather generally gets warmer, they’re a little bit longer and more intense.

This year, some freezing temperatures in February paused pollination.

“When that calmed down and the weather warmed up, it probably felt like tree season came on with a vengeance because we’d had that pause in February so now in March we see tree pollens in the high levels,” she said.

We checked a few grocery stores and were glad to see the allergy medicine shelves stocked.

Trevillyan suggests a combination of an antihistamine and nasal spray to ease symptoms.

And, she said you can limit exposure by decreasing time outside, showering when you come in and closing windows.

If those things aren’t working for you, that would be the time to see an allergist to make sure allergies really are the problem and talk about immunotherapy.