Do you believe that you’re allergic to rose flowers? Do you get an allergic skin reaction every time you use a product with rose fragrance or touch a rose? Well, then you might very well be allergic to roses!
In this article, we’ll elaborate more on rose allergies and different ways of diagnosing them. We will also dig into whether rose flowers can affect people with hay fever.
For more details on this, please read on!
Can Rose Flowers Cause Allergies?
Roses are perfect flowers in several ways. They are beautiful, elegant, and classic, as well as being virtually allergen-free for most people. Roses are self-pollinating flowers that don’t produce airborne pollen, so they have minimal effect on breathing allergies.
However, being considered hypoallergenic doesn’t mean that roses won’t affect some people. Despite being considered hypoallergenic, roses can still cause severe allergies in highly sensitive individuals.
What Are The Symptoms Associated With Rose Allergies?
Some of the symptoms of breathing allergies from roses in highly sensitive people include:
- Sneezing
- Throat stiffness
- Itchy eyes
- Stuffy nose
- Trouble breathing
Can Roses Cause Rashes?
Irritant plants usually cause rashes. And just like all irritant plants like dahlia, stinging nettle, and tulips, roses can also cause rashes and other skin irritations. So people with skin allergies might not be safe with roses.
So, Are Roses Really Allergy-Friendly?
Individuals with hay fever are usually affected by the airborne pollens produced by many plants. Rose pollen is rather large compared to other plants. And since they don’t produce airborne pollen, they self-pollinate, that’s why they can be considered allergy-friendly!
Even though these flowers produce and carry pollen, they have a low probability of affecting allergy sufferers with breathing allergies.
How Do You Know if You Are Allergic to Roses?
One of the best ways to know if you are allergic to roses is through taking note of how you come into contact with them. If you are prone to breathing allergies and roses are around, you could be allergic to the pollen, even though it is not airborne. So the best thing to do is to keep a healthy distance.
However, if you experience symptoms of contact dermatitis, it could be that you’re coming into contact with rose fragrances used in skin care products. These allergies are not related to pollen, rather, other elements that are extracted from roses when turned into a fragrance. This one may be a little harder to diagnose as many other ingredients in skin care products can be the culprit here instead.
Next time you’re visiting your doctor or allergy specialist, you can opt in for an allergy patch test if you really want to get to the bottom of what’s causing the irritation. Check out our article on flower allergies for more information.
FAQ’s – You Ask, We Answer
Can Dried Roses Cause Allergies?
Asthma can be triggered by pruning leaves, cleaning leaves, and preparation of bouquets. Therefore, asthmatic individuals can be affected by exposure to dried roses during these processes. However, in the case of nearby potpourri or other dried rose leaves, there is no pollen around to trigger an allergic reaction.
Do Roses Have Pollen?
Yes, roses have pollen. However, flowers like roses, lilies, and camellias have huge, heavy pollen that cannot be dispersed by wind. Therefore, they have a very low probability of affecting allergy sufferers with asthma or hayfever. But, even highly fragrant flowers with large pollen can still aggravate skin allergies.
Final Thought: Are Roses The Holy Grail of Hypoallergenic Flowers?
Generally speaking, all the flowers belonging to the genus Rosa are not usually associated with allergies. However, some allergy prone people with high sensitivities may still react to roses or products containing rose fragrances.
All in all, we would still consider roses to be hypoallergenic in the sense that they are less likely to trigger allergic reactions in most people, even with breathing or skin allergies.
