Are your fall allergy symptoms worse this year? Allergists explain why

Fall doesn't just bring beautiful foliage and pumpkin spice everything, it also brings pollen. And if your sneezing, itchy eyes and congestion feel even worse this year, you're not alone.

But are fall allergies actually more severe this year?

"Absolutely," Dr. Zachary Rubin, an allergist with Oak Brook Allergists and spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, tells TODAY.com

As the climate gets warmer and stays warmer for more of the year, allergy season is beginning earlier — and getting more severe, he explains.

And if your fall allergy symptoms seem worse than your spring allergies were, you might simply react more strongly to the types of pollen that are prevalent later right now, NBC medical contributor Dr. Natalie Azar said on the TODAY show. While tree pollen surges in the spring followed by grass in early summer, ragweed is at its peak in late the summer and early fall, Azar explained.

Additionally, allergies can fluctuate throughout your life. So the things you may have been more allergic to as a kid might not cause as much of a reaction now. Or you may find that you're getting more severe allergies at different times of year.

"When I was growing up, I was a spring and summer allergy person," Azar said, "and now I'm changing."

What causes allergies in the fall?

There are "a few culprits" when it comes to fall allergens, Rubin says, and the main one is ragweed pollen.

"Ragweed releases pollen in the late summer, up until the first hard frost of the year," he explains.

In general, that's from around Labor Day until the first snow, Azar explained, which means from about mid- to late August through November. But, depending on the temperature in your area of the country, you could be dealing with ragweed allergies from late summer through the entire winter.

For instance, some folks in Texas experience a set of seasonal allergy symptoms to juniper trees known as “Cedar fever,” which typically peaks in December and January, Rubin explains.

As leaves collect on the ground and rain falls, that makes the perfect conditions for another allergen — mold — to take hold, Rubin says.

The other factor is that, during the cooler months, people are likely to be spending more time inside around indoor allergens. That includes dust mites, indoor mold and pet dander.

Additionally, changing temperatures, humidity and air pressure can make some folks feel off and exacerbate their allergy symptoms, Rubin says. "Think of it like your body has a set point that it's used to," he explains, "and when we have these dramatic changes, that could potentially (affect) how your immune system responds."

Some people experience an "exaggerated response" during these seasonal shifts, causing "extra inflammation," Rubin says.

Why are fall allergies so bad this year?

If you feel like your allergies are worse this year, or maybe that your allergy symptoms get worse every year, you're not imagining it.

Climate change is contributing to longer and more severe allergy seasons, experts say.

"As global temperatures have been generally rising, that allows for plants to release pollen earlier in the year and stop releasing pollen later in the year," Rubin explains.

Essentially, with warmer winters, “you don’t get the benefit of the frost, so you have a longer growing season,” Dr. Tanya Elliott, a board-certified allergist at NYU Langone Health, told the TODAY show previously.

We're also getting more precipitation, meaning “more rainfall and warmer weather," Elliott said. That's a "perfect storm for allergy season to start sooner.”

On top of that, with higher carbon dioxide levels, "we're seeing more pollen grains being released at the same time," Rubin says. So it's not just that allergy seasons are lasting longer these days, there's also more pollen in the air, potentially causing more severe symptoms.

Fall allergy symptoms

Allergy symptoms in the fall are pretty much the same as those you experience in the spring.

Fall allergy symptoms include:

• Runny, stuffy nose

• Itchy nose and eyes

• Sneezing

• Post-nasal drip

• Red, dry, watery, irritated eyes

• Sore throat

• Cough

If you don't treat your allergy symptoms properly, they can become severe enough to interfere with your sleep and even lead to other health complications, Rubin says, such as middle ear infections and sinus infections.

There can also be consequences for feeling this crummy, Rubin explains, like missing work or school. So it's important to find a way to manage your fall allergies to both keep you feeling good and make it possible to stick to your usual activities.

Treatments for fall allergy symptoms

Treating your fall allergy symptoms will look very similar to treating other seasonal allergies.

The first step is to reduce the amount of pollen and other allergens that you're exposed to, Rubin says. To do so, try to keep your windows closed, reduce your risk for mold, wear a mask while cleaning (especially in dusty areas) and make sure your pets aren't tracking in allergens from outside.

Azar also recommends changing your clothes when you come in from outside and showering frequently to remove pollen. Additionally, when you're outside, it can help to wear sunglasses, a hat and a mask, she said.

From there, you can look into over-the-counter allergy medications, including antihistamines and steroid nasal sprays. Rubin also recommends looking into saline nasal rinses and neti pots to keep your nasal passages clear.

If you haven't been able to find relief with over-the-counter medications or your allergy symptoms are so severe that they're impacting your ability to get good sleep or participate in your routine activities, you should see a doctor or allergist, Rubin says.

They may recommend you try other options, like immunotherapy, to reduce your symptoms.

Do you have allergies, flu, COVID or a cold?

Allergies, flu, colds and COVID-19 all share some symptoms, so it's important to know how to tell these illnesses apart.

"COVID-19 has not gone away," Rubin says. "We just don't talk about it as much."

All of these ailments cause your body to "create mucus to trap things," he explains, which leads to congestion, sneezing, runny nose and post-nasal drip.

Be on the lookout for a fever, though, because allergies don't cause a fever, Rubin says. On the other hand, if you notice any itchiness in your eyes, throat or nose, that's a sign of an allergy rather than an infection.

But keep in mind that you could have allergies and a respiratory infection at the same time, which would leave you feeling "pretty miserable," Rubin says.

It can be especially challenging to differentiate between allergies and respiratory infections early on in the infection when your only symptoms might include sneezing, headache and fatigue. When in doubt, take an at-home COVID test or check in with your doctor for guidance.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com