If you've been walking around Austin lately feeling like your face is staging a full-on rebellion, you're definitely not alone. This spring has been an absolutely savage season for allergy sufferers in the city, and locals — from podcast hosts recording through sneezes to photographers squinting through watery eyes at outdoor shoots — are all feeling it.
So what's actually going on? A perfect storm of conditions has collided this year. Central Texas got a healthy dose of winter rainfall, which sounds lovely in theory but essentially turbocharges plant growth. More plants means more pollen. More pollen means more misery. Mountain cedar finally tapped out earlier in the year, but oak pollen stepped right up to carry the torch, blanketing cars, patios, and camera lenses across the city in that unmistakable yellow-green dust.
"I've lived here for eight years and this is genuinely one of the worst springs I can remember," said one local content creator who asked to remain anonymous mostly because she's embarrassed about how many antihistamine unboxing photos she's posted to her Stories. "I can't shoot outdoor content without my eyes looking like I've been crying for three days."
Mold spores are also having a moment, adding an extra layer of suffering for those of us who thought cedar season ending meant relief was around the corner. Spoiler: it was not.
The good news? Pollen counts do eventually drop as we move further into late spring. The not-so-good news? Grass pollen season is already warming up in the wings, ready for its debut.
For Austin creatives trying to power through outdoor events, markets, and photo shoots — stock up on your preferred allergy meds, keep those eye drops handy, and maybe invest in a really good ring light so nobody notices the redness. We're all in this together, ATX.