Spring allergies are driven by tree and grass pollen, and the most effective approach combines reducing your exposure with the right medications timed correctly. Tree pollen peaks from February through April in most of the U.S., with grass pollen following from April into early June. In warmer regions like the South, Texas, and California, these seasons start earlier and can overlap, stretching the misery from December through June.
Start Nasal Sprays Before Symptoms Hit
The single most effective over-the-counter option for spring allergies is a steroid nasal spray. The latest international allergy guidelines (revised in 2024-2025) specifically recommend fluticasone furoate or fluticasone propionate over other nasal steroids based on comparative evidence. These sprays reduce inflammation in your nasal passages, cutting down on sneezing, congestion, and the post-nasal drip that causes scratchy throats.
The key detail most people miss: nasal sprays work best when you start them one to two weeks before your usual symptom onset. If your allergies typically flare in mid-March, begin spraying in early March. Unlike pills, steroid sprays build up their effect over days, so starting after you’re already miserable means playing catch-up.
For people whose symptoms don’t respond well to a steroid spray alone, the updated guidelines now recommend adding an antihistamine nasal spray (like azelastine) to the steroid spray rather than switching to oral antihistamines. This combination spray approach received a strong recommendation for seasonal allergies. One thing to avoid: nasal decongestant sprays (the ones that shrink swollen tissue instantly) should not be used for more than five days. Beyond that, they cause rebound congestion that’s worse than the original problem.
Choosing the Right Antihistamine
Oral antihistamines like cetirizine, loratadine, and fexofenadine remain useful for itchy eyes, sneezing, and runny nose, though they do less for congestion than nasal sprays. If you’ve been taking the same one for years and feel like it’s stopped working, switching to a different one can help, since they act on slightly different receptor pathways.
Cetirizine tends to be the most potent of the three but also the most likely to cause drowsiness. Fexofenadine is the least sedating. Loratadine falls in between. All three are available over the counter, and taking them daily throughout your allergy season is more effective than using them only on bad days.
Nasal Rinsing Works Better Than People Expect
Flushing your nasal passages with saline physically washes out pollen, mucus, and inflammatory chemicals. It’s simple, cheap, and backed by solid evidence. You can use a neti pot, squeeze bottle, or sinus rinse kit. Mix one to two cups of distilled or previously boiled water with a quarter to half teaspoon of non-iodized salt. Never use tap water directly, as it can contain organisms that are harmless in your stomach but dangerous in your sinuses.
During peak allergy season, rinsing once or twice daily is safe and effective. Some people continue rinsing a few times a week even outside allergy season to prevent symptoms from building up. If you’re using a nasal steroid spray, rinse first so the spray can reach clean tissue and absorb properly.
Reduce Pollen in Your Home
Pollen grains are tiny enough to float indoors on clothing, hair, and air currents, but large enough for a good filter to catch. HEPA filters remove up to 99.97% of airborne particles including pollen. When choosing an air purifier, check that its clean air delivery rate (CADR) matches the square footage of the room where you’ll use it. A purifier rated for 150 square feet won’t do much in a 400-square-foot living room.
Other habits that make a real difference:
- Shower before bed. Pollen collects in your hair and on your skin throughout the day. If you don’t wash it off, you’re breathing it in all night and transferring it to your pillow.
- Change clothes when you come inside. Toss pollen-covered clothing into a hamper in the laundry room rather than the bedroom.
- Keep windows closed on high-pollen days. Check your local pollen count (weather apps and sites like pollen.com report daily levels). Pollen counts tend to peak in the morning, so if you like fresh air, evening is a better bet.
- Dry laundry indoors. Hanging sheets and towels outside to dry turns them into pollen collectors.
Foods That May Make Symptoms Worse
If you’re allergic to tree pollen, especially birch, you may notice that certain raw fruits and vegetables make your mouth or throat itch. This is called pollen-food allergy syndrome, and it happens because proteins in some foods look almost identical to pollen proteins to your immune system. For birch pollen, the common triggers are apples, cherries, peaches, pears, plums, carrots, celery, almonds, hazelnuts, and kiwi. Grass pollen cross-reacts with melons, oranges, peaches, tomatoes, and celery.
The reaction is usually limited to tingling or itching in your mouth and throat, and it only happens with raw versions of these foods. Cooking breaks down the offending proteins, so apple pie and tomato sauce are typically fine. If you’ve noticed this pattern, it doesn’t mean you have a true food allergy, but it’s worth being aware of during peak pollen season when your immune system is already on high alert.
Supplements Worth Knowing About
Quercetin, a compound found naturally in onions, apples, and berries, blocks immune cells from releasing histamine in lab studies. Supplemental doses of up to 500 milligrams twice daily for up to 12 weeks appear safe, though optimal dosing hasn’t been firmly established. Some people find it helpful as an add-on to conventional treatment rather than a replacement.
Butterbur extract has stronger clinical evidence behind it. A randomized trial published in The BMJ compared butterbur extract to cetirizine in 125 people with seasonal allergies over two weeks. Both treatments produced the same level of improvement on symptom scores and quality-of-life measures. The side effect rate was similar (16% for butterbur, 17% for cetirizine), but notably, two-thirds of cetirizine’s side effects involved drowsiness, while butterbur caused none. If you try butterbur, look for a product labeled “PA-free,” meaning the liver-toxic compounds naturally present in the raw plant have been removed.
When Over-the-Counter Options Aren’t Enough
If you’ve tried nasal sprays, antihistamines, and environmental controls and still feel miserable every spring, immunotherapy can retrain your immune system to stop overreacting to pollen. This comes in two forms: allergy shots given at a doctor’s office (typically weekly at first, then monthly) or dissolvable tablets you take daily at home. Shots tend to produce slightly stronger immune changes than tablets, but both require a commitment of three to five years to achieve lasting results.
The payoff is significant. Many people see a meaningful reduction in symptoms and medication use that persists even after stopping treatment. Immunotherapy is the only approach that changes the underlying allergic response rather than just managing symptoms season after season.