The hay fever season has been known to turn allergy sufferers into flower haters. While there are numerous flowers that can’t cause allergies, there are others, especially the ones belonging to the Aster family, that have a strong effect on allergies.
Keep in mind that some fragrant flowers, like lilacs, that don’t aggravate hay fever can still trigger allergies with their scents or as fragrances used in various products.
We’ll explain more on the causes of lilac allergies and the symptoms of lilac allergies further in this article. We will also elaborate more on the different types of lilacs and which lilac bushes are more fragrant.
For more info, please read on!
What Are Lilac Flowers?
Lilac flowers are deciduous shrubs that grow in late spring. They are also known as Syringa vulgaris, which is a flowering plant belonging to the Oleaceae family. The Syringa family of plants is made up of about 25 cultivated species with the most fragrant lilac tree being Syringa pubescens.
Can Lilacs Cause Allergies?
Well, the answer is yes. Even though most high fragrance flowers like lilacs don’t aggravate allergies, they can still irritate those prone to breathing allergies. In close quarters, these flowers can cause nausea and headaches; therefore they are best enjoyed outdoors.
In general, some other high fragrance flowers that can cause these symptoms include jasmine, hyacinth and gardenia.
What Are the Main Causes of Lilac Allergies?
If you are already allergic to herbs, trees and shrubs like jasmine, olive, birch, and forsythia then chances are that you can be affected by lilacs. Other causes of lilac allergies include:
- Heredity: susceptibility to allergies can be inherited
- Hormonal imbalance in the body
- Pseudo-allergic reactions to the fragrance produced by lilacs
- Atopic dermatitis
What Are the Symptoms of Lilac Allergies?
Lilac can cause 4 main allergic conditions:
- Skin rashes
- Bronchial asthma
- Conjunctivitis
- Rhinitis
Each of these have vastly different symptoms. The rhinitis caused by lilacs is characterized by sneezing, itchy nose, stuffy nose and runny nose. Some of the symptoms associated with conjunctivitis include tears, feeling of sand in your eye and itching, which result in redness of the eyes.
Lilac fragrance has been known to cause bronchial asthma which is characterized by labored breathing, itchy throat and coughing. Even people with skin allergies are not safe with lilac flowers.
Some of the symptoms associated with skin allergies include small itchy acne, itchy blisters and exacerbation of atropic dermatitis.
What Are the Available Treatments for Lilac Allergies?
One of the best solutions for dealing with any type of allergy is staying away from the allergen as much as possible. Therefore, you should avoid visiting places where lilac is grown and definitely don’t bring this plant to your house. Other treatments include:
- Avoiding fragrances with lilac
- Keep antihistamines handy
- Humidify your eyes and nose using prescribed drops
Key Takeaway
Lilac plants can cause both breathing and skin allergies so it’s safer to steer clear of this plant if you know you’re generally allergic to other types of high fragrance flowers.
