As we flip the page from summer to fall, allergies continue to be a nuisance.
Dr. Neal Godse with the University of Minnesota, reveals what the three common culprits this time of year can be.
"Ragweed kind of blooms later in the season, releases a lot of pollen," says Godse. "And then as we get a little bit deeper into fall and the leaves start dropping, molds start to build up. The last thing that comes to mind, heating systems and ducts that have not been on for a couple of months collect a lot of dust and that gets kicked back up into the air."
He also says this summer's Canadian wildfires will also have an impact for many in the Upper Midwest.
"Noses are already pre-inflamed by the pollution that was coming down from the fires," Godse explains. "And now, if you add additional allergic inflammation on top of that, the overall burden of the symptoms are going to be that much worse."
The main causes are ragweed, mold from leaves, and dust from air ducts that accumulated over the summer.
Symptoms include sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, runny nose, and difficulty breathing through the nose.
There are a few options allergy sufferers have to prevent or limit exposure.
"Number one, avoidance," he says. "Let's say you know that you're allergic to ragweed. Then you should do what you can to probably stay away from it. I think that can be helpful, is running an air purifier in the house to pick up any allergens that might be floating in the air. It's also worthwhile maybe to sleep with your windows closed. A lot of plants will release more pollen at night."
Godse says the most common ways to treat symptoms are with oral or nasal antihistamines and nasal steroids.