Can You Have Allergies in the Winter?

The short answer is "yes."

Now here’s the long answer.

When most people talk about “allergy season,” they are referring to the spring when trees and flowers are pollenating. Pollen is just one allergen, even though it tends to get the most attention. Because the increase in pollen—and thus, allergy symptoms—corresponds to a specific time of year, it can be tempting to assume that all allergies happen around the same time.

Winter allergy symptoms

While there’s no such thing as an allergy to winter, year-round allergies can seem to increase when people start spending more time indoors and in close quarters with furry critters (welcome and unwelcome). Common symptoms for allergies to these triggers include:¹

Do those symptoms sound familiar? They are very similar to cold and flu symptoms, which makes it even harder to determine whether you’re allergic to something, or just sick with whatever crud is making the rounds.

What causes allergies in winter?

There are a handful of year-round allergies, but here are the most common ones:

Is there relief from allergies?

There is no complete cure for respiratory allergies, but there are things you can do to help manage symptoms, regardless of the time of year. This includes something called exposure reduction, which is exactly what it sounds like—reducing exposure to known allergic triggers:² 

Of course, these management techniques work best when paired with proper testing to determine the allergens you are sensitized to. Once you know your allergies, your healthcare provider can work with you to create a tailored plan to help control your symptoms and put you on the path to year-round relief.