New year brings allergic assault from the south, UNTHSC expert warns

Just when you thought it was safe to breathe again, the new year brings a new allergy. 

December’s sub-freezing temperatures quelled ragweed and many other allergens. But mountain cedar (actually ashe juniper, a small tree native to Central Texas) has been pumping out pollen that is blown into North Texas by prevailing south winds, said John Fling, MD, an allergist and Professor of Pediatrics at UNT Health Science Center.

This year is predicted to be worse than last, because autumn rainfall in the Central Texas Hill Country put a big bloom on mountain cedar. 

"The amount of pollen that hits the Hill Country is phenomenal, and the locals call it the ‘cedar fever,’" said Dr. Fling, because symptoms are severe: itchy eyes, sneezing and congestion.

Here are Dr. Fling’s tips for those who are allergic:

  • Avoid the Hill Country, if possible.
  • Use a topical nasal steroid spray beginning several weeks prior to exposure, and continue through February.
  • Use antihistamines as needed.
  • Use allergy eye drops as needed.

To see a UNT Health provider, call 817-735-DOCS (3627).

Recent News

Pharmacy Research
  • Community
|May 19, 2025

UNT System Board of Regents approves fall 2026 Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences at UNTHSC

A new Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, the first degree of its kind offered in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, will tentatively be offered starting in fall 2026 at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. The new doctoral degree in UNTHSC’s College of Pharmacy was ap...
Selina Tucker
  • Community
|May 16, 2025

A passion for helping others through research motivates CBTS graduate to dig deep

Selina Tucker, who graduates this semester with a Ph.D. in integrative physiology from The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth’s College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences, had an interest in science and medicine from an early age, but she was unsure where her curio...
Berenice Benayoun
  • Community
|May 15, 2025

NBAAD Symposium will feature geroscience expert and highlight student training in aging research

By 2050, 21% of the global population—about 2 billion individuals— will be older than 60, driving a sharp rise in age-related diseases. The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth is helping lead the charge against this growing crisis. On Tuesday, May 20, sci...
Image2
  • Community
|May 15, 2025

Army, Navy and Marine veteran and former physician assistant adds one more title: osteopathic physician

Meet Bradley Vander Zanden. He’s currently in the United States Navy, formerly in the United States Army, a former Marine, a former physician’s assistant and now he’s adding one more title to the prestigious list: osteopathic physician. Vander Zanden, after a nearly 20-year military career, is...