Am I allergic to citrus?

Recently I overheard a comment from a lady who was complaining about her allergies. She said she couldn't stand it when the citrus trees bloomed, because she was very allergic to the pollen. Now that was a new one to me. I grew up here, and I knew people allergic to ragweed, olive trees, and other stuff. I couldn't remember anyone being allergic to citrus trees. The fruit itself, yes, but not the pollen.

So I did a little looking around, and found out that the lady was probably wrong. There are a lot of other common allergens that send out pollen at the same time the citrus trees are blooming. Citrus trees are a good scapegoat, because the scent is pervasive. Ahhh... the smell of citrus blooming in the spring is absolutely heavenly.

Anyway, citrus trees do not have pollen that drifts through the air like that of ragweed or other plants. Like the pollen of most other fruit trees, citrus pollen is sticky, and insects transfer the pollen from one flower to another -- the good ol' honey bees. Unless you stand under a citrus tree and shake the branches, or stick your nose directly into a flower, you can't really come into contact with the pollen.

Therefore, even if you were allergic to the citrus pollen, it is unlikely that you would come in contact with enough pollen to have an allergic reaction. The past month has had very high tree and weed pollen counts, but not citrus.

You can see the primary allergens for Phoenix (or your area) on Weatherbug.

So, good luck figuring out what you're allergic to, but it's almost certain that citrus trees are not the culprit.