By Ryan Otteson | Reporter
It is officially spring, which means that the allergens are rampant and the Waco and Baylor communities are feeling the effects. There is an increased pollen count during spring time, which is what makes allergies so difficult to avoid during this time of year. The pollen count is usually expressed as grains of pollen per cubic meter of air.
According to Allergy Insider, anything over 90 grains per cubic meter is considered high. Allergy and Asthma Care of Waco tracks the pollen count in the area, and the latest measurement was 436 grains per cubic meter for trees. With this high pollen count, students struggle to fight against the symptoms of allergies.
In fact, about one-third of U.S. adults have seasonal allergies, eczema or food allergies, and about 81 million people in the United States were diagnosed with hay fever in 2021, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Plano sophomore Ashley Ring is a student who deals with allergies each day. She said it even affects her sleep due to a dry throat or having struggles breathing at night.
“I kind of get all the symptoms, and I did have allergy testing and they told me that I was allergic to grass and ragweed,” she said.
Dallas sophomore Emily Bailey is also greatly affected by pollen, as she has allergy induced asthma. She said her allergies are also triggered by extreme temperatures, so even in the winter her allergies will flare up. There are several ways that her and Ring treat their allergies, such as taking allergy medicine each day.
“I used to have a nose spray that I did everyday, but I haven’t really done that in a while because I started taking a pill daily,” Bailey said.
Allergies can be treated with prescriptions in times when they get worse, whether that is a nose spray, pills or inhalers. Bailey said that she has multiple inhalers to use for her allergies.
According to News Medical, allergies occur due to a protein in the body called Immunoglobulin-E. It is supposed to protect against harmful substances, but people with allergies may have elevated IgE, causing it to attack pollen that would otherwise be harmless. The most common symptoms of allergies include watery eyes, runny nose and sneezing, although there can be other symptoms.
Students who are experiencing allergy symptoms due to the seasonal increased pollen count can visit Health Services located on the second floor of the SLC. According to Health Services’ diagnosis code search, they have seen 442 students for allergies this school year. Lilia Gonzalez, registered nurse and director of nursing at the Health Center, said that how they treat allergies depends on the severity of symptoms.
“Sometimes you can have just regular allergy symptoms like stuffy, runny nose or itching — itchy eyes or sneezing,” Gonzalez said. “Most of the time, treatment for that would be some kind of antihistamine and most of those are over the counter.”
