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June 2022 | Linda Armstrong | ✓ Medically reviewed by: Gary Falcetano, PA-C, AE-C; Fabio Iachetti, MD
A licensed Physician Assistant with more than 25 years of diverse experience in emergency and disaster medicine, primary care, and allergy and immunology, Gary Falcetano is the U.S. Clinical Affairs Manager for Allergy in ImmunoDiagnostics at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Fabio Iachetti is a licensed physician with more than 15 years of diverse experience in several disease areas such as allergy, CV, pain, GI, rheumatology, urology, and diabetology. He is a Senior Medical Manager for Allergy in ImmunoDiagnostics Global Medical Affairs at Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Whether you’re celebrating Christmas or Kwanza, Omisoka or Our Lady of Guadalupe, December could be the season for sneezin’. While colds and flu are common this time of year, they may not be the cause of your discomfort. The true culprit could be the allergens on the Christmas tree lurking in your living room—or on the myriad pines parked everywhere from shopping malls to subway stations.
Although an allergy to Christmas trees may sound about as likely as a successful 20-year Hollywood marriage, Christmas Tree Syndrome is real. The associated symptoms can dampen your holiday spirit more than a cringe-worthy gift from Aunt Mildred.
So to help you determine if you’re affected by Christmas tree allergy (or more specifically the related mold, pollen, dust mites, and sap), here’s the lowdown on this little-known seasonal affliction.
While the jury’s still out to some degree, here are some types of allergens that could be triggering Christmas Tree Syndrome.
Likely the only thorough investigation of Christmas tree allergy, a paper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal concluded that airborne ragweed, grass, and tree pollens on Christmas tree bark or rosin (aka sap) are the likely causes of related symptoms.1 That makes sense because cypress and pine trees, which are often used as Christmas trees, can collect a significant amount pollen from other plants before they are cut down.2 Some weed, grass, and tree pollen, then, likely stays on the trees that end up in your house.4
Pollen-Related Symptoms
Pollen may aggravate asthma symptoms and trigger the following symptoms.3
The aforementioned CMA Journal study also indicated that scrapings from pine and spruce bark yielded large numbers of potentially allergenic mold spores (specifically those of Penicillium, Epicoccum, and Alternaria).4 While these spores weren’t airborne in relation to this study, another study suggested that mold could be part of the problem, as researchers discovered more than 50 kinds of mold on their Christmas trees.4,5
If mold is to blame, then, faux firs might not be any better than genuine pine. That’s because artificial trees are sometimes stored in damp basements and humid attics, both of which can support mold growth.5 What’s more, these environments may also house dust mites.2 So if you’re sensitized to mold or dust mites, even fake yet festive firs could bring on the sniffles.
Mold-Related Symptoms
Mold may aggravate asthma symptoms and trigger the following symptoms:6
To further complicate matters, pine-tree sap (i.e., rosin colophony) can cause contact dermatitis.7 So some people can develop a Chrstimas tree rash after touching its sap.5
Bottom line: The main cause of Christmas Tree Syndrome is debatable. But mold, dust mites, and pollen are suspected causes; plus, rosin could be a sneaky accomplice.
Assuming you don’t already have an allergy diagnosis, talk to your healthcare provider about your symptoms and history. He or she may recommend testing, as identifying the allergens to which you’re sensitized may help you minimize exposure and treat symptoms more effectively.
Once you know which allergens are likely causing your symptoms, the following tactics—broken down by related allergy types—can help you manage your allergy.2,5
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Create a summary of your allergy symptoms in a downloadable document
Share the summary with your healthcare provider for a productive conversation about allergy blood testing
Gain an optimized diagnosis and a personalized treatment plan
Allergies affect us all differently. This questionnaire will summarize your specific allergy symptoms to share with your healthcare provider and learn more about your testing options.
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Create a summary of your allergy symptoms in a downloadable document |
Create a summary of your allergy symptoms in a downloadable document
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Share the summary with your healthcare provider for a productive conversation about allergy blood testing |
Share the summary with your healthcare provider for a productive conversation about allergy blood testing
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Gain an optimized diagnosis and a personalized treatment plan |
Gain an optimized diagnosis and a personalized treatment plan
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