KALISPELL – Allergists in Northwest Montana say this year’s pollen is average, but there’s a reason you’re experiencing allergy symptoms before everything blooms.
Dave Mangold with the Allergy and Asthma Center in Kalispell explained a theory to MTN News.
He says snow banks cover last year’s pollen and once plowed, old pollen is stirred back into the air, giving people allergy symptoms before things bloom.
Typically grass pollen — which is the prominent seasonal allergen in Montana — starts in June and early July.
However, Mangold says that Montanans experience less seasonal allergies than other parts of the country. Montana is low in humidity which prevents molds and tree pollen from forming.
“The rest of the country has to deal with ragweed. There’s some really significant tree pollen allergies around the country that we don’t deal with,” Mangold explained.
“We don’t have a lot of humidity and mold problems that the rest of the country has. Dust mites like humidity, so we have very low dust mite problems around Montana. So, it’s the reason you don’t see an allergist around every corner,” he added.
A popular natural home remedy for seasonal allergies is a teaspoon of local honey a day.
Mangold says while this method isn’t scientifically proven, many folks see great results with this remedy. The idea is that ingesting local pollen over time will desensitize the body to local allergens.
