Facts, Prevention, and Relief for Ohio Allergies in 2024
Beat your allergies forever.
Get Started With WyndlyOhio has a typical Midwestern climate with hot summers, temperate springs and falls, and cold winters. This also means that Ohio has a fairly typical allergy cycle, with allergy season beginning in spring and settling down in winter.
Most counties in Ohio will be dealing with indoor allergens like dust, mold, and pet dander throughout the year, while bigger cities have additional issues like pollution. But what about Ohio’s seasonal allergies? What are the common contributors, and how can you make allergy season more manageable?
Wyndly is here to help. We can provide you with a personalized allergy treatment plan designed to find you long-term relief. Get your personalized allergy consultation below if you’re ready to get started, or read on to learn more about Ohio allergy season.
When Is Ohio Allergy Season?
Ohio allergy season, like in many states, will begin in early spring and run until the weather gets too cold for plants to release their pollen. Ohio winters can get very cold, so allergy sufferers will typically just need to worry about indoor allergens during this time. Let’s take a look at each season and the allergies that come with it.
Allergens by Season
Ohio allergies commonly occur in spring, summer, and fall. These are the allergens that are most prominent in each season.
Summer
Summer is the beginning of grass allergy seasons for Ohio residents. The season will typically kick off in May and peak in June. These allergies may tamp down in July, but you can generally expect them to go into August. The biggest contributors include ryegrass and Kentucky blue, orchard, and timothy grasses.
Fall
Once summer ends and the weather begins to cool down, weed allergy season starts up. August typically marks the beginning of this allergy season, and it can last well into November. The weeds to watch out for include ragweed, pigweed, Russian thistle, yellow dock, marsh elder, and sorrel.
Winter
If you have pollen allergies, you’ll likely find some respite during the frigid Ohio winters, but beware of indoor allergens like dust in mold since you’ll likely be spending more time at home.
Spring
Finally, we have the most grueling allergy season of them all — spring. This is when tree pollen is the main issue for allergy sufferers. Tree pollen allergies can begin as early as February and go well into May. The most common tree allergies in Ohio include cottonwood, oak, birch, maple, elm, hickory, mulberry, ash, walnut, and beech.
Common Allergens
Ohio has many of the same seasonal allergies as the rest of the United States. Tree, grass, and weed pollen are the most common culprits. Ohio has a diverse array of tree species, so tree allergies can be especially problematic.
Common Symptoms
Ohio residents can expect the following allergy symptoms:
- Runny nose
- Coughing
- Congestion
- Sneezing
- Headaches
- Scratchy throat
- Itchy eyes
- Watery eyes
- Hives
- Aggravated asthma symptoms
As always, reactions will vary from person to person, but in general, allergies will cause one or more of these symptoms to occur.
Allergens Around the State
Allergens can vary based on what area of Ohio you live in. Let’s take a look at the most common seasonal allergies in some major Ohio cities.
Cleveland/Toledo/Akron/Cuyahoga Valley National Park
The Cleveland/Toledo/Akron/Cuyahoga Valley National Park area has a variety of grass, tree, and weed allergies to deal with. In spring, hickory, ash, oak, willow, and walnut trees tend to cause the most problems. When summer hits, ryegrass and Bermuda and timothy grass allergies start. For fall, ragweed and orache are the common allergens.
Youngstown/Mansfield
The Youngstown/Mansfield area can expect ash, oak, hickory, and cedar allergies in spring. In summer, residents should be wary of ryegrass and bent and timothy grass pollen. Fall sees the rise of ragweed and amaranth allergies.
Cincinnati
The Cincinnati area allergy season will kick off in spring with hickory, walnut, ash, oak, and mulberry allergies. Next up is grass allergies in summer with Bermuda, fescue, and timothy being the most prominent. In fall, ragweed and wormwood take over as the main allergens.
Dayton/Columbus
The Dayton/Columbus areas have tree allergies beginning in spring with hickory, ash, mulberry, and oak. In summer, grass allergies begin with Bermuda, timothy, and sweet vernal. Fall allergies include ragweed, mustard, and amaranth.
Steubenville/Athens
The Steubenville/Athens areas should be wary of hickory, maple, cedar, oak, and willow pollen once allergy season starts in spring. In summer, Bermuda, timothy, and bentgrass will take over. Once fall comes around, ragweed, wormwood, and orache will be the main concerns.
Testing and Diagnosis
When you have seasonal allergies, it can be incredibly difficult to find out which specific plant pollens are causing your symptoms. Fortunately, allergy testing is safe and easy, especially when you buy an at-home allergy test with Wyndly. Get your allergy test today to find out what allergies you have.
Here’s how different allergy testing options work:
Old-Fashioned Method: Skin Prick Test at Your Doctor’s Office
Skin prick testing requires you to go to the doctor to find out your allergen triggers. It’s often uncomfortable, and it takes time out of your day. You’ll go to the doctor’s office, they’ll administer a test where they prick or scrape your skin with a needle tipped with different allergens, and then they’ll observe the areas they pricked for itchiness, redness, or swelling. All in all, it’s not a pleasant experience. Instead, you can save yourself time and pain by getting an at-home test.
Modern and Efficient At-Home Method
- Get Wyndly’s at-home allergy test. We ship our CLIA-certified test straight to your door.
- Take the allergy test and send it back to us. Just do a quick finger prick test to provide us with a blood sample and mail it back when you’re done.
- Receive your allergy profile. Our doctor will interpret your results, create an allergy profile, and walk you through a treatment plan.
Treatment and Remedies
Allergies can cause issues in your daily life and make you miserable. Instead of putting up with them, you have several options for managing symptoms or treating them. We’ll look at some of them below.
Limiting Exposure
Limiting exposure can be an effective method for reducing symptom severity. With that being said, airborne pollen is hard to avoid completely, so your results may vary.
- Always look at the pollen count: It helps to start the day by knowing what level of pollen you’ll be dealing with. You can check the pollen count on websites or apps to find out if there will be an excess of pollen in the air. If the pollen count is high, try to avoid going outdoors on that day to limit your overall exposure.
- Cut your grass: If you have grass allergies, keeping your grass short can make it more difficult for grass to produce pollen. If you can have someone else cut the grass for you, that’s even better.
- Keep the house clean: It’s almost impossible to keep pollen out of your home completely, but keeping your home clean can reduce the amount of pollen circulating in the air. Make sure to vacuum frequently, use a HEPA filter on your A/C, and dust off surfaces.
- Wash your hair and body: Pollen will definitely get in your hair and stick to your skin when you go outside, so make sure to shower after you’ve been outdoors, especially on a day with a high pollen count.
- Take shoes off: Taking your shoes off will help ensure you don’t track pollen into the house.
- Wipe pets down: If you have pets, make sure to wipe them down with a towel when they come inside to get as much pollen off of them as possible. It’s a good idea to bathe them more frequently too.
Medications
If limiting exposure isn’t working for you, it may be time to try allergy medication. Over-the-counter allergy meds like antihistamines, eye drops, nasal sprays, and decongestants may help you manage your symptoms for short-term relief. You may want to consult your doctor about prescription options if these other medications aren’t working, but prescription medications are also a short-term solution.
Sublingual Immunotherapy Allergy Drops
Antihistamines and limiting your exposure can only go so far. They can help you manage your symptoms, but they can’t treat the root cause of your symptoms. If you’re looking for lifelong relief, you may want to consider sublingual immunotherapy allergy drops. Allergy drops retrain your immune system to ignore allergen triggers by introducing small amounts of your allergen to your system in gradually increasing doses over time. Using sublingual immunotherapy, you can gradually reduce symptoms over time and often find complete relief.
Get Long-term Relief With Wyndly
If your allergies are making you miserable, and you’re tired of just managing your symptoms, then it’s time to get a consultation with Wyndly. Our doctors will create a personalized treatment plan for your allergies. Get started with long-term allergy relief by scheduling your allergy consultation with Wyndly today.
Ohio Allergy FAQs
Still have questions about Ohio allergies? Here are some common questions and answers to help you out.
How long is Ohio’s allergy season?
Ohio allergy season lasts for most of the year, with a brief window of respite in winter.
Why is allergy season so bad in Ohio?
Ohio has a plethora of trees, which leads to a diverse array of tree pollen traveling through the air.
Is Ohio a good state if you have allergies?
Ohio frequently ranks anywhere in the middle to the back of the pack when it comes to the worst allergy states. It’s not going to be significantly worse than other Midwestern states, but it’s still not ideal for seasonal allergies.
When is the Ohio allergy season?
Allergy season typically begins in February and ends in November.
What are the worst months?
The worst months are April for trees, June for grass, and September for weeds.
