Christmas tree can aggravate allergies

PORTLAND -- For most people, a live Christmas tree is a fragrant symbol of the joy of the season. For others, it means 12 days of sneezing and wheezing.

But despite the misery's nickname, "Christmas-tree allergy," experts say most Americans are probably not actually allergic to the tree.

"It's not that they're reacting to the pollen of the fir tree," said Emil Bardana, an allergist at Oregon Health Sciences University and president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Usually, it's one of two other factors.

In rare cases, a chemical sensitivity to the fragrant resins of a pine or fir tree can bring on a runny nose, congestion and sneezing.

More often, Bardana said, the problem is airborne grass pollen that landed and stuck on the fir needles months earlier. When the tree dries out in a heated home, the pollen can shake loose and find its way to nasal passages, where it triggers symptoms resembling hay fever.

When the fall is relatively dry, there's less chance for tree, weed and grass pollen to wash off by the holiday season.

"You may have a potpourri of pollen on that tree," he said.

Yet pinpointing the source of allergies is a tricky business, and when it comes to holiday allergic reactions, there are plenty of suspects.

"It's rare to find someone who is truly allergic to their Christmas tree," said Dan Atkins, an allergist at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. "Sometimes people think it's the tree and it's not. It's the ornaments."

Or the dust mites and mold that gather on ornaments while they're packed away. Or the pets that have come indoors. Fireplace smoke. Abrupt swings in temperature. Exotic holiday food.

"There are hundreds of things that can set off a sensitive nose," Atkins said.

Not to mention the common cold virus that spreads more easily during this season with all the time spent indoors and the exchange of holiday hug-and-kiss greetings.

Allergies--real or perceived--are one factor in the steady rise in sales of artificial Christmas trees. They now account for more than half of the roughly 80 million holiday trees bought in North America.

While sales of natural trees have held steady during the past decade, sales of artificial trees have risen by 23 percent, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, an industry group.

For people with a rare specific allergy to live trees, the association recommends a hybrid species, such as the Leyland cypress or the Canaan fir, that is sterile and doesn't produce pollen.

Some health experts recommend hosing down a holiday tree to wash off dust, mold and airborne pollens.

But the tree should be dry before it is brought indoors so as not to promote mold growth, said Michael Osborne, a Portland allergist.

Carol Willis of Portland was forced to switch to an artificial tree after a medical scare.

Five years ago, she set up and trimmed a 7-foot Douglas fir in her one-bedroom apartment.

By the next morning, her eyes stung, her nose plugged up and her lungs burned. She sneezed and wheezed and lost her breath.

"I thought I was going to die from that tree," she said. "I had to take the ornaments off and drag it out onto the balcony. You can't imagine how hard it was for me to give up having a natural tree. But it was either the tree or me."