Allergic to the Holidays? Maybe It's Your Tree...
Winter holidays are meant to be joyous, but for many, the season can present endless work and worries. And to further complicate matters, that live Christmas tree in the living room can even cause allergies.
Indeed, incessant sneezing is no way to spend the holidays, but live Christmas trees are known to often carry microscopic mold spores that can trigger allergy symptoms including sneezing, watery eyes and an itchy nose. A study by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology reported on in the December 2007 U.S. News & World Report indicates that live Christmas trees can adversely affect indoor air quality. The study was conducted because of the consistent increase of asthma and sinus complaints among patients each winter.
"As mold growth is common in the area surrounding outdoor foliage, we hypothesized that the presence of a live Christmas tree may be contributing to indoor mold," noted a researcher involved in the study. Researchers tested air quality and measured mold counts in a room containing a live Christmas tree, and they found that mold counts in the air grew during the time the tree was brought into the room until it was taken down.
Experts contend that the existence of mold in live Christmas trees is no surprise since the trees are harvested well in advance of holidays and stored in a moist environment before they are taken to homes and again stored in water.
Since mold allergies affect up to 15 percent of the population, doctors recommend that families with allergies in general and mold allergies in particular think twice before bringing a live Christmas tree into their home.
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