Cedar fever season in Texas | News

For starters, cedar fever isn’t a flu or a virus — it’s an allergic response to the pollen launched by mountain cedar bushes. In Texas, the predominant species of mountain cedar is the Ashe juniper.

“Cedar fever is the worst west of I-35, where you have primarily juniper mixed in with oaks and some other species,” stated Jonathan Motsinger, Texas A&M Forest Service Central Texas Operations division head. “And because all of those junipers are producing pollen at the same time, you’re going to get a higher concentration of pollen in the air.”

The sheer amount and density of Ashe junipers in Central Texas is among the fundamental elements contributing to cedar fever. According to Karl Flocke, a woodland ecologist for Texas A&M Forest Service, the pollen from Ashe junipers isn’t notably allergenic or dangerous — it’s simply so concentrated that even if you happen to aren’t typically prone to allergy symptoms it may nonetheless have an effect on you.

“There are millions of junipers out there, all releasing pollen at the same time,” Flocke stated. “You can’t help but breathe it in. And when you do, your body reacts as it would to any perceived threat – it tries to fight it.”

Since the pollen is unfold by the wind, cedar fever can have an effect on people far faraway from areas with a excessive focus of juniper bushes. And the supply isn’t restricted to Ashe junipers. In extra jap components of the state, there are additionally jap pink cedars that pollinate across the identical time and might induce the same response from folks’s auto-immune techniques.

Besides the sheer amount of pollen launched, cedar fever is generally problematic due to when the pollen is launched. Most bushes pollinate in the spring when many predict to have allergic reactions. While ragweed pollen and mould spores can contribute to allergy symptoms in the autumn, only a few vegetation pollinate throughout the winter. Juniper bushes are the exception.

These bushes sometimes start producing pollen in mid-December, usually triggered by colder climate or the passage of a chilly entrance. Pollen manufacturing reaches its peak in mid-January, earlier than slowly petering out towards the start of March, simply in time for oak pollen and different spring allergens to begin up.

“Immediately before and after a cold front, it gets very dry and windy and the pressure changes very rapidly,” Flocke stated. “This triggers the opening of pollen cones and the release of the pollen grains. When you see the pollen billowing off a tree that has just ‘popped,’ or opened its cones, it looks very similar to smoke coming from a wildfire.”

While this creates for some fascinating imagery, it might probably additionally result in some severe distress. For folks new to the Central Texas area or unfamiliar with cedar fever as a complete, it might probably additionally result in confusion for the reason that pollination interval of mountain cedar bushes is smack dab in the center of chilly and flu season – or a pandemic.

It’s not unusual for folks experiencing cedar fever to mistake their signs as a chilly or the seasonal flu, particularly given the number of signs triggered by cedar fever. These embody fatigue, sore throat, runny nostril, partial lack of odor and — consider it or not — some folks really do run a slight fever. However, in case your fever is greater than 101.5°F, then pollen doubtless isn’t the trigger.

There are a couple of signs of cedar fever that aren’t linked to coronavirus or the flu although, like itchy, watery eyes, blocked nasal passages and sneezing. But there’s one symptom that, in response to Flocke, is a clearer indicator.

“Typically, mucous from allergies is clear and runny, while other infections lead to thicker colored mucous,” Flocke stated.

You can deal with cedar fever by taking allergy medicines and antihistamines, however you need to seek the advice of together with your doctor or well being care skilled earlier than taking new medicines. You can even attempt to anticipate the pollen by tuning in to your native news station. Many stations offers you the pollen rely and might predict when it’s going to be a specific pollen-heavy day. On these days, it’s good to maintain home windows and doorways closed, to restrict the period of time you spend outside and to alter air-con filters in your automobile and residential.

Removing juniper bushes out of your property isn’t really useful, primarily as a result of the pollen is airborne and —since they usually wait to launch their pollen till it’s chilly, dry and windy — that pollen can blow for miles. It’s additionally necessary to notice that solely male juniper bushes launch pollen.

“The male trees have pollen cones, and the female trees have berry-like cones, which are very inconspicuous, but that’s what is pollenated from the male trees,” stated Motsinger.

While junipers are infamous for releasing their fever-inducing allergens, additionally they have immense well being advantages. Their berries, as an illustration, are used to make medicines and oils that may deal with quite a lot of illnesses, from an upset abdomen to snake chunk. They are excessive in diet and nutritional vitamins, offering a sustainable supply of meals for wildlife and soil enrichment. They develop in terrain that isn’t notably hospitable to different tree species. Most importantly, although, they supply the psychological, bodily and environmental well being advantages of bushes and forests in every single place.

Ultimately, mountain cedars are actually solely singled out for the bizarre time of 12 months in which they pollinate.

“Many trees rely on airborne pollination,” defined Flocke. “In other parts of the country, folks suffer from pine or elm allergies. Here in the springtime, there is so much oak pollen collecting on surfaces that I have to wash my car’s windshield daily just to see out of it.”

For extra information about tips on how to determine Ashe junipers and/or jap pink cedars in your individual yard, take a look at the Texas A&M Forest Service’s Texas Tree ID webpage or the My Tree ID cell app. You can even see the distribution of junipers throughout the state by way of the Forest Distribution App, which might determine the distribution of native tree species throughout the state of Texas.