Central Texans may want to think twice before hanging their evergreen garlands.
Although the festive greenery puts them in a holiday mood, the outdoor decorations can cause indoor woes as people unknowingly bring allergens into their houses.
 
The colder weather during the holiday season causes cedar pollen to come out, said allergy and asthma specialist Dr. Pramila Daftary from Allergy and Asthma Care of Waco. “Most people think of allergies in the spring, summer and fall months, but the winter has its own allergies. People can mistake these allergies for other sicknesses.”
 
Daftary said many people don't know they're allergic to cedar pollen spores. They mistake the sudden congestion, itchy, watery eyes and scratchy throat brought on by the allergies as a common cold or flu virus, she said.
 
Allergens also can affect people in their homes. Daftary said trimming a live Christmas tree can send some allergy-prone decorators running to the tissue box.
 
“Live Christmas trees create havoc,” Daftary said. “A live Christmas tree or garland may carry mold spores, which spread throughout once inside a home.”
Holiday decorations such as the bright red balls and twinkle lights that adorn the tree also can cause allergy problems, she said.
 
“Ornaments get stored away for a whole year, and it creates dust,” Daftary said. “Then when people pull down the boxes and decorate, the dust gets in the air, and it irritates people's allergies. Fake snow, the kind you spray on the tree, can cause irritations.”
 
Daftary recommends anyone decorating this season to make sure all dust is removed from boxes and ornaments before starting.
 
Even food can pose allergic threats during the holiday season. Christmas treats such as fruitcake and eggnog could cause serious illness for those allergic to eggs, nuts and wheat, she added.
 
Holiday travel and the recent cold snap factor into seasonal sickness. While changes in the weather don't cause sickness, they do decrease the body's ability to ward off infections, said Dr. Natalie Lippe, family practitioner at the Providence Family Medicine Clinic.
 
Cold weather inhibits the body's ability to fight off infections and viruses, she said.
 
Holiday travel also can be blamed for winter illnesses.
 
“Regardless if you're sick, you still have to visit grandma,” Lippe said. “During the holidays, everyone travels and brings new strains of diseases with them.”
Flu season, which usually lasts four weeks, hasn't hit Waco yet, Lippe said. Clinics mainly are treating patients who are sick from colds and viral infections with symptoms such as coughing, runny noses and congestion as well as a few small cases of the flu, Lippe said.
 
“We are starting to see the sick trend, but it's not overwhelming,” Lippe said. “Not like it will be in a few weeks.”
 

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