Christmas Tree Allergy

[NYer]

I've had dry eyes for years but in the past few weeks I've had a lot of burning and itching eyes, particularly today. I've never had my occular rosacea flare up this badly. Then I thought maybe it's an allergy. I couldn't imagine what could be different in here that I might be allergic to. And suddenly it occurred to me that we have a small Christmas tree right here in the middle of our small apartment...and I've never had a Christmas tree before. So I looked it up and Christmas tree allergies are extremely common. It's actually a MOLD allergy. The pine trees put out a LOT of mold spores. Who knew?? So, sadly, we just packed it up and threw it out. I miss the little tree but I strongly suspect my eyes will thank me for it tomorrow.
Anyway, I thought I'd put this out there for any of you who have had increased burning and itching symptoms this month and didn't know what it was from. Next year, we're just going to have a menorah and a fake tree!
Happy Holidays everyone!

[redshirt]

I've had dry eyes for years but in the past few weeks I've had a lot of burning and itching eyes, particularly today. I've never had my occular rosacea flare up this badly. Then I thought maybe it's an allergy. I couldn't imagine what could be different in here that I might be allergic to. And suddenly it occurred to me that we have a small Christmas tree right here in the middle of our small apartment...and I've never had a Christmas tree before. So I looked it up and Christmas tree allergies are extremely common. It's actually a MOLD allergy. The pine trees put out a LOT of mold spores. Who knew?? So, sadly, we just packed it up and threw it out. I miss the little tree but I strongly suspect my eyes will thank me for it tomorrow.
Anyway, I thought I'd put this out there for any of you who have had increased burning and itching symptoms this month and didn't know what it was from. Next year, we're just going to have a menorah and a fake tree!
Happy Holidays everyone!

Hello, I've been ghosting this forum for a couple weeks and actually joined specifically to reply to your post.

I work with evergreen boughs quite a bit, this time of year. I had similar symptoms to you, and for the most part I figured it was the volatile oils given off by the boughs themselves (since I cut into them at my job). -_- No one at work really believed me until it escalated out of control.

It didn't occur to me that it might be the spores at all. oO I suppose I have a whole year to bone up for my next bout with the evergreens.

I just thought you'd like to know that there are others out there who reacted the same way, I know it made me feel better.

[NYer]

Thanks, Red! I'm glad to know that I was able to help someone. And by the way, my eyes have been MUCH better since we got rid of the tree. I'm back to my regular dry eyes - not the itchy burning eyes I had from the tree!

Here is an article I found on the subject:

Think your allergies and asthma get worse once you bring that fresh pine tree indoors during the holidays? It may be more than just your imagination. People for years have suspected that along with that fresh pine scent, an indoor freshly-cut Christmas tree worsened allergy symptoms, but the reason wasn't completely clear. Possibilities included pollen, mold spores and strong odors emitted from the tree.
A recent study appears to shed light on the issue: The problem is likely due to mold allergy. Researchers in Connecticut found that after 2 weeks of being indoors, a live Christmas tree emitted significant amounts of mold spores into the air. In fact, the amount of mold spores found in a home with a Christmas tree was nearly 10 times the amount of mold normally found inside. People who suffer from mold allergies may want to limit the amount of time a Christmas tree is kept indoors (such as less than 2 weeks), or consider using an artificial tree.