Spring allergies, prescribed burns a double-hit to many

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies

Central Oregonians with allergies usually start feeling the effects when juniper season begins in March, Bend allergy specialist Adam Williams said Wednesday.

Bend resident Daniel Withington said he experiences many familiar symptoms.

“Runny nose constantly, sneezing, feels like the face swells up a little bit, teary-eyed,” he said.

For Central Oregonians, there aren’t just the usual culprits like grass to deal with, but also smoke from prescribed burns and later, wildfires.

“I always get really frustrated when they do prescribed burns during allergy season,” Williams said, “because it really does create a double hit for people who have allergies and then are also affected by things like wildfire smoke.”

He said people with asthma are hit the hardest.

“We see a spike in people having attacks, when it’s allergy season and we start burning fields and forests,” the allergy specialist said

Even without prescribed burns, having to deal with smoke is inevitable. Fires consumed almost 230,000 acres in Central Oregon last year. According to Williams, the smoke produced is something allergy medications won’t help.

“Most of the medications that we have available are more geared towards treating the allergic inflammation, but not as good at treating the irritating effects of the smoke,” he said.

He said the best plan of attack is prevention by staying inside and closing your windows when a fire is near.

Go to http://www.deq.state.or.us/aqi/index.aspx to check air quality. For an allergy forecast go to https://www.pollen.com/forecast/extended/pollen/97701