Misty May-Treanor is the queen of the sand court – the two-time Olympic gold medalist in beach volleyball. As she gears up for the Summer Games in London, her eye is keenly on the ball for a shot (along with partner Kerri Walsh) at an incredible third gold medal for Team USA. One thing May-Treanor [...]

The pollen’s out and once again you’re congested and bleary-headed. Do you get a few allergy symptoms or the whole enchilada? HEADACHE Allergies cause fluid to build up in the sinuses, putting pressure on the nerves in the area. This can lead to a headache directly above the eyes. The pain is different for each [...]

It might not be as pretty as snowflakes, and certainly not as harmless, but tree pollen is beautiful in its own way, says New Jersey-based allergist Dr. Donald Dvorin. Each tree species has a signature pollen that can be identified under a microscope. As a certified pollen counter who regularly collects pollen from stations in [...]

An American field guide to the trees that trigger allergies – region by region.

Our 10 Garden Greats If years of sniffles, bloodshot, itchy eyes and even wheezing have made paving over the back garden seem an appealing notion, do not despair. These gorgeous flowers are just what the horticulturalist ordered. Many of them propagate with seeds, while those that do make pollen create the kind that does not [...]

There’s a new strain of ragweed lurking in Canada, and herbicides don’t stand a chance with it. Scientists at the University of Guelph have confirmed that a strain of ragweed resistant to glyphosate, the most effective herbicide for ragweed, has been found in Ontario. But ragweed sufferers take note: according to François Tardif, an associate [...]

IT’S EARLY MAY. In a typical Canadian workplace where 100 co-workers share close quarters, the droning sounds of keyboarding, shifting chairs and phone conversation are punctuated increasingly by sniffing, staccato sneezing and explosive nose-blowing. Statistics tell us that 40 of these 100 co-workers suffer from hay fever, a condition still dismissed by the unafflicted as [...]

Allergic Living’s handy region-by-region field guide to Canada. For the U.S. field guide, see America’s Trees of Allergies. WE CAN blame the deciduous trees’ attempts at procreation for our watery, red-eyed snuffling and other springtime rhinitis symptoms. Catkins, which often appear as elaborate cones or buds, are a tree’s reproductive organs, and they bloom before [...]

All you’ll need to cope with Spring’s misery-making allergies. Debbie Honickman, a Toronto family doctor, never had hay fever as a child. Then in her forties, she started to react to grass in the spring, and could suddenly empathize with her allergy-suffering patients. At first she found her symptoms so difficult “I thought, I can’t [...]

How did the dastardly king of hay fever become so potent and so widespread? Allergic Living investigates. The ragweed in my backyard in the Ottawa Valley waves at me smugly every morning. It has formed a towering wall along the back corner of the small meadow we’ve let flourish as an environmental gesture. All the [...]