We are smack dab in the middle of cedar fever season in the heart of Texas. Noses are running, eyes are itching, and sufferers are miserable. These days, we respond to concerning glares with six words: “It’s allergies, I don’t have COVID.”
What exactly is cedar fever, and why is it so insufferable this time of year? For starters, cedar fever isn’t a flu or a virus — it is an allergic reaction to the pollen released by mountain cedar trees. In Texas, the predominant species of mountain cedar is the Ashe juniper.
Central Texas — including Belton, Temple, and most of Bell County — is widely known as the Allergy Capital of the World, and cedar plays no small role in that distinction. With the peak of mountain cedar season fast approaching, it’s helpful to understand why many Central Texans start sneezing as soon as they open the front door.
Cedar fever is a seasonal allergy caused by pollen releases from the Ashe juniper, Texas’ most common species of mountain cedar. It can cause intense, almost flu-like reactions.
According to Dr. William Long, an allergy specialist with clinics in Temple and Harker Heights, Santa’s sleigh isn’t the only thing airborne come late December.
“Cedar trees usually start pollination right around Christmas,” he said. “It usually hits its peak around Jan. 7 and starts to decrease in late February. By March, most cedar is pretty much gone.”
Karl Flocke, a woodland ecologist for Texas A&M Forest Service, explained that the pollen from Ashe junipers isn’t particularly allergenic or harmful — it’s just so concentrated that even if you aren’t generally susceptible to allergies, it could still affect you.
Since the pollen is spread by the wind, cedar fever can affect individuals far removed from areas with a high concentration of juniper trees.
Besides the sheer quantity of pollen released, cedar fever is mostly problematic because of when the pollen is released. Most trees pollinate in the spring when many are expecting to have allergic reactions. While ragweed pollen and mold spores can contribute to allergies in the fall, very few plants pollinate during the winter. Juniper trees are the exception.
These trees typically begin producing pollen in mid-December, often triggered by colder weather or the passage of a cold front. Pollen production reaches its peak in mid-January, before slowly tapering off toward the beginning of March, just in time for oak pollen and other spring allergens to start up.
It’s not uncommon for people experiencing cedar fever to mistake their symptoms as a cold or the seasonal flu, especially given the variety of symptoms triggered by cedar fever. These include fatigue, sore throat, runny nose, partial loss of smell, and — believe it or not — some people actually do run a slight fever. However, if your fever is higher than 101.5°F, then pollen likely isn’t the cause.
There are a few symptoms of cedar fever that are not linked to coronavirus or the flu, like itchy, watery eyes, blocked nasal passages, and sneezing. But there is one symptom that, according to Flocke, is a clearer indicator.
“Typically, mucous from allergies is clear and runny, while other infections lead to thicker colored mucous,” Flocke said.
You can treat cedar fever by taking allergy medications and antihistamines, but you should consult with your physician or health care professional before taking new medications. You can also try to anticipate the pollen by tuning in to your local news station. Many stations will give you the pollen count and can predict when it’s going to be a particularly pollen-heavy day. On those days, it’s smart to keep windows and doors closed, to limit the amount of time you spend outdoors, and to change air conditioning filters in your car and home.
Removing juniper trees from your property isn’t recommended, primarily because the pollen is airborne and — since they often wait to release their pollen until it’s cold, dry, and windy — that pollen can blow for miles. It’s also important to note that only male juniper trees release pollen.
