Seasonal allergies in Houston are at an all-time high, as are indoor allergies. The expert gives advice on their treatment.

According to the latest report from the Houston Department of Health on allergens in the city, the amount of tree pollen in Houston is currently extremely high, especially oak pollen.

There are other everyday problems too: weeds and mold spores outdoors plus animal dander, dust, certain foods indoors.

Dr. Dat Tran works at the Innovative Allergy Clinic. On Thursday, he spoke to the Houston Matters with Craig Cohen and said the pollen count this year is unusual.

“Typically, oak pollen peaks in mid to late March, and just this week… [Thursday] is over 2,000 pollen per cubic meter of air, which is high,” Tran said.

The total amount of tree pollen is over 2500 per cubic meter of air.

The pandemic phase of COVID-19 has passed, but because the virus is still circulating, it can be difficult to determine what is causing problems in people.

“It’s hard when you have friends who sneeze and cough,” he said. “If you have symptoms, how do you know if it’s contagious or allergic?”

He said one way to see the difference is to take an over-the-counter allergy medication like Zyrtec, Claritin, or Allegra.

“The difference is like day and night,” he said. “If it’s a cold, you’re unhappy and nothing helps. Is it contagious”.

Dr. Tran said another more natural way to deal with allergies is with an allergy injection or sublingual drops such as Ollereg.

“It can treat your allergies locally without having to go to a doctor’s office to get an allergy shot,” Dr. Tran said.

Astepro is an over-the-counter nasal spray that helps relieve allergy symptoms quickly, he says. He added that Pataday Extra Strength eye drops are good for itching and runny nose.

He warned that indoor allergens could be just as dangerous. Dust mites are a problem in Houston.

“Houston is a humid and warm city. Thus, dust mites require air humidity and heat to grow,” he said. “If you have humidity above 55%, temperature above 74 degrees, the dust mite grows.”

He said that there is an easy way to identify dust mite symptoms:

“Usually at night, when you crawl in your bed, you get nasal congestion, this is a discharge of mucus, and by the morning there is even more outflow. And during the day, if you work from home, you get this sinus pressure, this headache, this fog in your head, and in some other sensitive areas, you have itchy skin, hives and trouble breathing.”

Mold and pet dander can also be a problem.

Another way to know if indoor allergies and not pollen is the problem is if the symptoms appear in the evening or when the person is indoors.

“It’s either dust mites or if you don’t have a new pet,” he said. “The best way is to do an allergy test to understand what we are dealing with.”

If symptoms persist on a daily basis, this is also unlikely to be due to pollen and may be an indoor allergen.

“Dust mites are a natural creature and they eat your dead skin,” he said. “So she’s in your bedding, your sofa, your carpet, your fabric upholstery. But you are allergic to the feces they produce and they are heavy. So installing an air filter won’t help because it’s not pollen in the air.”

“The best thing you can do is lower the air conditioner temperature to 70 degrees and install a dehumidifier. Don’t take a humidifier. Houston is a humidifier.”