Wyoming is not an easy state for allergy sufferers, and there’s a reason for that. That reason is sagebrush, and it’s a huge contributor to the state’s overall pollen counts.
According to a review by honey products manufacturer Bee Inspired, which tallied up pollen scores across the nation using data from pollen.com, Wyoming ranks sixth in the nation for average pollen counts. Its hay-fever capital is Evanston, Wyoming, which clocks in with an average pollen concentration index of 6.65 on a scale of 10.
Former Wyoming legislator Stan Blake wasn’t surprised to learn that Evanston is Wyoming’s hay fever capital. He used to live there and started having issues with sagebrush allergies severe enough to require a specialist as early as the second grade.
“They draw this checkerboard on your back to see what you’re allergic to,” he said. “And my No. 1 allergy was sagebrush. Hell of a place to live if you’re allergic to sagebrush, Wyoming, right? Because it’s everywhere.”
Blake required shots every week while he was growing up to help manage his symptoms.
“My allergies were always worse at the end of August and September, until there was a good hard freeze,” he said. “The shots really did help, so I’d go once a week to this lady’s house who was a nurse. Then I’d walk back home two blocks.”
Blake recalls how his eyes would swell shut if he made the mistake of rubbing his eyes while out hunting, due to the aromatic oils from the sagebrush plants he’d rubbed up against.
“A lot of that land was where I used to go hiking as a kid and hunting cottontails and stuff,” he said. “And it was all sagebrush.”
While the population has increased since then, Blake knows there’s still a lot of sagebrush in the area. And, though he hates to say so, because he still loves the town where he grew up, his allergies have gotten better once he moved away to Cheyenne, and now Green River.
Not A Panacea
Moving, though, isn’t necessarily a panacea.
That’s because pollens aren’t the only things people can be allergic to, and moving can expose them to a whole new slate of problematic things, like dust, mold and animals. There are a lot of other contenders that can make one’s allergy bucket overflow.
That’s what Evanston resident Shantel Mysliwiec found out when she tried moving to Tennessee, which has one of the nation’s lowest average pollen counts, thinking it would help her family to get away from their allergy issues in Evanston.
“It just seemed to, like, exacerbate everything,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “It was the worst experience of our lives. All three of us developed asthma and even more additional allergies. So, we actually came back because it was so bad for us in Tennessee.”
Mysliwiec and her children’s allergy issues started after a huge wildfire in Utah filled Evanston with smoke.
“It was so bad my children’s faces were swelling,” she said. “They were out of school for two weeks.”
The big trigger for them also turned out to be sagebrush.
Burning sagebrush, it turns out, puts off all kinds of aromatic oils and chemicals into the air, which can trigger even more severe allergic reactions. It’s similar to what happens with burning poison ivy.
“All three of us are severely allergic to sage, which we’re surrounded by, and I mean, we can’t even use, like, a ChapStick with sage, because it will make our eyes swell,” she said. “And that’s why fires are so detrimental for us here, because there’s just sage everywhere, and juniper and pine — all of that family.”
Mysliwiec watches for wildfires now, in addition to keeping her eye on pollen counts, and takes steps to mitigate issues for her and her family, like closing windows and using air purifiers.
“If there are certain pollens in the air, there are foods my children can’t eat because they’ll have allergic reactions to them,” she said. “And it’s really frustrating, because you can’t always predict that. You just have to be hyper-vigilant about paying attention to symptoms.”
Why Sagebrush Is A Superstar Allergen
To say that sagebrush is common in Wyoming is a bit like noticing the sun rises every morning.
Sagebrush isn’t just common. It is a dominant feature of the landscape in many parts of Wyoming. More than 20 different species of sagebrush grow in the state from one corner to another, across varying heights and habitats.
The plant is seen by many land managers and range specialists as a beneficial species. The shrub helps hold moisture in place on the range, and the plant is an important food source for mammals ranging from rabbits to elk.
But it’s also a wind-pollinated species, and that’s part of what makes this plant a superstar allergen producer. Like many wind-pollinated species, its pollen is extra-light — the better to travel far and wide.
And the plants will crank out a whole lot of this lightweight pollen to ensure that at least some of it is landing in all the right places for the next generation of sagebrush plants.
There are a couple of other attributes that help sagebrush grow well in Wyoming, spreading it around.
For one thing, those aromatic compounds that give the plant its characteristic scent are also part of a complex of compounds that inhibit the growth of other plants around it. That gives the slow-growing plant a distinct edge on many other species when it comes to spreading and multiplying.
Another edge the plant has is drought tolerance. That’s helped it not just in Wyoming, but the arid Mountain West, whose states have claimed six of the top 10 spots when it comes to average pollen counts.
Effective Management Trumps Place
Lifelong Evanston resident Jeff Johnson remembers hay fever season having widespread effects on most of his classmates when he was growing up.
“The wind and everything always help spread it around,” he said. “And gives (hay fever) to pretty much everyone.”
He remembers his parents giving him over-the-counter remedies when he was growing up to help manage the symptoms. That’s still part of his routine even today.
“I don’t know if it has anything to do with age or something as you get older, but I’ve definitely noticed it’s gotten a little bit worse,” he said. “It’s like either a Zyrtec or a Claritin every day or every other day kind of thing now.”
Johnson can always tell when the sagebrush pollen count is rising, too. His allergies are a bit like the trick knee that tells people it’s going to rain. He starts to feel more tired than usual, like he’s getting over the flu — even though he hasn’t been sick.
“It’s just a weird, lethargic feel,” he said.
Still, he has no plans to ever move away from Evanston.
“I love Evanston,” he said. “The town’s really good for me and everything as far as like medical stuff.”
That’s an assessment Bobi Jensen agrees with wholeheartedly.
The former Texas and Nebraska resident moved to Evanston nine years ago. Prior to that, her allergies had never really been properly treated.
“I had no idea this was a place where allergies would be bad when we chose to move here,” she said. “But it’s been a huge part of my life, and I love Wyoming’s fresh, quality air.”
Her love for fresh air has her opening windows on days when she perhaps shouldn’t — but she uses her robot vacuum frequently and an air purifier to help mitigate any issues to the extent possible.
Those are among the steps she learned thanks to the excellent medical care she’s found in Evanston. Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctors there helped her identify 17 environmental triggers for her allergies, and she was able to begin a regimen of shots to help tamp down reactions to them.
“Thankfully, we have an excellent ENT here, which is why I’ve finally done all the treatments and prevention I can,” she said. “I was never treated for my allergies as a kid.”
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
