MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – One step outside and it’s easy to see that pollen is covering the Eastern Carolinas, and it’s sending plenty of people to the doctor’s office looking for allergy relief.
The thick, yellow dust on your car, is a sure sign itchy eyes, headaches and sneezing is on its way back into the lives of spring allergy sufferers.
Yellow pollen from pine trees is what coats windshields; and though the large particles pollen isn’t the kind that triggers an allergic reaction, hardwood trees like oak do and they bloom at the same time.
“It really serves as a marker that there’s other tree pollen that’s microscopic, and floating creating constant contact with the membranes of your eyes and nose, and gets into your lungs,” said Dr. Mark Schecker, an allergist.
A few things allergy sufferers can do is try to stay indoors with the air conditioning on, take the proper medication early and try your best to avoid the pollen.
“You may have pollen stuck to your clothes, you may have it in your hair so it may be better to change your clothes when you get inside or even take a shower,” said Dr. Schecker.
Avoidance and medication may not be enough for chronic sufferers who have disabling symptoms every year, but there is another option.
“These people can go on shots and be desensitized so that’s the only treatment that gets rid of your allergies,” said Dr. Schecker.
Not everyone is complaining about the pollen however.
“No, we call that gold dust in the car wash industry,” said Derrick Detrick, owner of three car washes on the Grand Strand.
He’s seen an increase in business, thanks to all that yellow stuff, “we go through big spurts where we have 20 or 30 cars at a time,” said Detrick.
Detrick says he noticed the uptick two days ago and it hasn’t slowed since, doubling the amount of cars since this time last week, “it’s significant.”
While you can try to wash it away, there’s nothing that can truly get rid of the pollen.
Health experts say it will be a nuisance for the next month, and after the tree pollen season comes to a close in mid-April, grass pollen season begin and lasts until June.
