Cedar Fever Hits Texas Hard
If you've never had a cedar allergy before, this might be your year. Cedar fever is hitting hard, and it's going to last a lot longer than usual.
Cedar fever is usually something that our friends in the Hill Country have to deal with, but Central Texas isn't the only place that will be socked by high cedar pollen counts this year. No place in Texas is immune from cedar issues right now, and instead of running through mid-February, the experts are thinking cedar allergies will have a grip through the middle or later part of March. It's a good time to invest in Kleenex.
Combine this cedar news with the fact that this is a horrible cold and flu season, and we've the potential to pick up a plugged nose and some aches and sneezes every time we turn around. Those co-workers who call in sick this week probably aren't fakin' it.
No allergy is pleasant, but cedar allergies can be especially hard. Patricia Sharpe with Texas Monthly says the biochemical structure of cedar pollen's protein coat helps make it extra noxious. And there's a LOT of cedar in the air. Texas has been getting decent amounts of rain in the past couple of years, and when cedar trees are happy the pollen count spikes.
OnlyInYourState.com points out that it's normal to see between 5,000 and 10,000 cedar grains per cubic meter of air during the peak of the season, but this year, numbers are expected to be in the low 10,000s for most of the season.
So...if we haven't developed a cedar allergy by now, we're in the clear, right? Not exactly. Cedar allergies can develop after a season or two in Texas, but sometimes it takes twenty years or more to start seeing symptoms. And this season might be prime time.