{"id":51403,"date":"2026-03-13T15:15:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/?p=51403"},"modified":"2026-03-13T15:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:37:18","slug":"five-things-you-didnt-know-about-allergies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-allergies\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Allergies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There\u2019s something coming in the air \u2026 and it\u2019s getting harder and harder to breathe. That\u2019s right, folks; outdoor allergy season is upon us. At the risk of sounding like a pharmaceutical commercial, one in four Americans suffer from seasonal allergies. But why? As we explore air <\/em>for our spring issue, we dig into the environmental explanations behind your itchy eyes. Here are five things you didn\u2019t know about allergies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

1<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Allergy season is getting longer<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If it\u2019s seemed like you\u2019ve been blowing your nose sooner, and for longer, you\u2019re not losing your mind. In Wisconsin, tree pollen season has grown by about 30 percent<\/a> since the early 2000s. This is because of an elongated growing season: final spring freezes coming earlier and first fall freezes coming later. Data from the Wisconsin State Climatology Office shows increases in the growing season across Wisconsin since 1970, with the biggest change \u2014 34 days \u2014 in Madison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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2<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re not just getting more pollen-filled days; we\u2019re getting more pollen<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth increased carbon dioxide and warmer days and nights can stimulate plants to create and release more pollen,\u201d says Kate Beardmore, climate and health program manager at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and codirector of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts’ (WICCI) human health working group<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

3<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

And you\u2019ll never see it coming<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The allergens that cause the most trouble are those from wind-pollinated plants, not insect-pollinated plants. \u201cIf a plant is wild-pollinated, it doesn’t need to invest energy into making showy flowers,\u201d explains Eve Emschwiller, professor of botany and Nelson Institute affiliate. \u201cLawn grasses have wind-pollinated flowers, but they are green and not brightly colored to attract pollinators \u2026 Many people won\u2019t even notice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

4<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Goldenrod would like to be excluded from the narrative<\/strong>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Turns out, we all owe goldenrod an apology. \u201cGoldenrod gets blamed for pollen allergies that are really due to ragweed,\u201d says Emschwiller. Think back to the last fact. Brightly colored, showy flowers that attract pollinators? Goldenrod. Green, inconspicuous flowers that are carried by the wind? Ragweed \u2014 and the source of your suffering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

5<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The call is coming from inside the house<\/em><\/strong>.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re not completely safe inside! Even with windows and doors shut, wind-blown pollen can easily make its way into your house. Change your clothes as soon as you come in from outside, Beardmore recommends. And it mightn\u2019t be the most sustainable swap, but if you\u2019re a serious sufferer, consider using a dryer instead of a clothesline to keep allergies away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: How to Improve Your Indoor Air Quality<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should we unearth next? Reach out to our editorial team at communications@nelson.wisc.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Including one plant that deserves a collective apology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":51432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[44,49],"tags":[40,67,38],"post_template":[],"class_list":["post-51403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-health","tag-secondary","tag-spring-2026","tag-unearthed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFive Things You Didn\u2019t Know About Allergies | The Commons Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nelson.wisc.edu\/the-commons\/five-things-you-didnt-know-about-allergies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" 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