CINCINNATI — The forecast is picture perfect and many of you are opening your windows — but if you suffer from allergies, you often have to consider what is in our air.
In late August, it's ragweed pollen.
We checked in with the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency and they confirmed that ragweed numbers are starting to rise and will only get worse in the coming weeks.
"If you are an allergy sufferer and allergic to ragweed, get ready, here it comes," said spokesperson Joy Landry.
Here's what to know if ragweed bothers you each year:
Landry said ragweed will be on the upswing over the next few weeks and reach its highest numbers in September. After that, we have to wait for frost to come and shut down the ragweed pollen production.
"Unfortunately, if you're very allergic, you're better off keeping those windows shut," said Landry. "It's unfortunate, but minimize your exposure on the days that we have the beautiful breezes. That's just spreading all that ragweed pollen around."
Joy also suggested taking a second shower later in the day. This helps remove pollen from your body that you've been exposed to during the day.
Doing this can help you rest easier at night and sneeze less.
For now, the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency is currently ranking air quality in the region as good, with minimal particulate allergens in the air.
The dashboards on their website can be handy if you're trying to determine whether your burning eyes, scratchy throat, nasal congestion and sneezing is a result of allergies or a bug you picked up.
According to the Southwest Ohio Air Quality Agency, ragweed is the most allergenic plant of North America. It blooms from August through October, so the fact that pollen spores are about to rise should not come as a surprise.
