SAN ANTONIO – Tradition says this weekend marks the start of the end of mountain cedar season, with Valentine's Day offering a special gift to allergy sufferers every year.
This year, there's new hope in the fight against mountain cedar pollen and allergists are looking forward to the results of a study.
It took a move to San Antonio in 2004 for David Rodriguez to learn the discomfort of mountain cedar.
"I take mostly my nasal spray for allergic rhinitus" Rodriguez said. "I also take antihistamines, I take a singular as well, and for some reason it starts to affect my breathing (so) I take Albuteral."
Allergist Dr. John Dice said some patients may not have thought mountain cedar season was too strong this year because of all the rain.
The Lady Bird Johnson Center in Austin is burning juniper trees this year, trying to determine if it will reduce allergy symptoms in patients.Â
"Cedar is a unique tree in that it releases pollen in such ridiculous quantities that I'm interested in seeing," Dice said of the juniper tree burning. "I mean, even if you wiped out half of all the cedar trees in Texas, I think people would still have significant problems."
The reason? Even at the lower level, those who suffer are hypersensitive to the pollen.
"Dropping the pollen counts from 60,000 to 30,000 seems like a lot, but it isn't going to change how the average patient is bothered," Dice said. "I'm interested in seeing what happens with the reduced pollen count, but I think people are still going to feel bad. "
Rodriguez said that as happy as he is to see Valentine's weekend and the end of mountain cedar, he knows what's in store next.
"It's also the kick-off of what's coming up next -- it's oak for me."
Dice recommends that if you are taking a lot of medications to control your allergies, you may be a better candidate for allergy shots.Â
He said in the long run you can actually save a significant amount of money with the shots over other treatments.