Pollen allergies in Greece

My husband had horrible hay fever this past May all over Italy. I had nothing. It is interesting to realize this was so pervasive. Wishing good health to all!

Since Both Greece and Spain are major olive oil producers; I have to assume the pollen allergies are likely to be equally bad in Greece.

No not quite. Oak, birch, maple, cedar, juniper, and eucalyptus and many other trees produce pollen,
We don't have olive trees and take an antihistamine at home or wherever; have you thought about taking something? There are a few different antihistamines, cetrizine (Zyrtec) works for me. I think I'd rather sweat in hot weather than having an allergic reaction (runny nose, sneezing and/or wheezing) while on vacation.

Allergies are my superpower, so I sympathize. Unfortunately you can't always predict pollen season (or what you will react to) when you travel. With the change in climate, even at home my seasonal allergies are much worse earlier and later than they used to be. Just being exposed to a little of something I don't encounter on a regular basis can be a bugger. And sometimes, it's a pleasant surprise when I have no issues at all!

If you have remedies that work to alleviate your allergy symptoms, then if it were me I'd pack those up and pick the time of year that is more comfortable for me to travel in (May). Besides the heat, I might be more concerned about wildfires and smoke in September. Best of luck deciding!

@AI and @CL:

Yah I have hayfever problem here in the US so I did pack 10 Claritin pills thinking it would be plenty; I ended up having to refill at local pharmacy in Cádiz. The combination of antihistamines and mask did help to some extend; surgical mask seems to work better than antihistamines (Claritin seems to be less effective for the types of pollen in that region). But it's definitely tough to have to wear the mask consistently while traveling. I have never had this problem in my previous May tours in countries such as France and Northern Italy; which got me to suspect it might have to do with pollens from the olive trees (which typically bloom from mid April to May in Southern part of Spain, as well as Southern Greece and Southern Italy).

Having runny nose, sneezing and itchy eyes while on vacation is definitely no fun; but I equally dislike traveling in hot weather and heatwaves are becoming more common in Southern Europe. One thing I'm considering is to pick a tour date from late May to early June; hopefully the weather is still not too hot and maybe the bloom is mostly over by then.

When I first moved to Andalucia my hayfever started much earlier in the year than in the UK. I put this down to olive pollen, since I was living on a boat and there weren't that many different trees!
I started to take cetirizine and, while not a total cure, certainly helped and didn't make me drowsy.
Back in the UK, it is still tree pollen and I also use Optrex eyedrops sodium cromogllucate, which help a lot.
Have you heard if the fix of putting Vaseline up your nostrils, which traps pollen?

I didn't have any problems with allergies when we spent 3 weeks in Greece in Oct. 2024. I think the long dry sunny stretch of near 80 degree highs on the Peloponnese worked some magic on my sinuses. It was the most problem free I've been in a long time. My partner had a problem with a tick bite in Kardamyli and some of us had some issues with mosquitos there as well.

(Claritin seems to be less effective for the types of
pollen in that region)

You might consider trying a different antihistamine. At home I alternate between cetirizine/Zyrtec and loratadine/Claritin on a 3 month-ish cycle - that seems to perk up my immune system. And I always take enough pills to last the whole trip. I also start using a nasal spray (Fluticasone/Flonase) for a few weeks before I travel, then while I am on the road. And Alaway eye drops work wonders on my itchy peepers and they come in a TSA friendly size. Not foolproof method but this regime does seem to get my system ready for exposure to new things. Anyway, I wish you well and hope you have a minimally allergic trip.

@CL:

Weather forecast for this summer indicates widespread warmer conditions across Southern Europe; which continues the trend line of the past few years. For this reason I pretty much have ruled out taking vacation in September next year. Your suggestion of a combination of different classes of antihistamine is a good one that I might try when I do go to Greece next May. Thanks for the suggestion!

@Lin C:

Have you heard if the fix of putting Vaseline up your nostrils, which
traps pollen?

This is something new to me; I googled it and apparently some people claimed it to be effective. However I read it somewhere that one needs to be careful of doing it as it can lead to lipoid pneumonia.

Was in Spain too and pollen out was out of sight due to much needed rain they got. I had my Claritin type pills with me. I ended up buying Flonase at a Farmacia. That was a huge help and did the trick.

With climate change issues, you never know what is going to be blooming when. I’d just book a trip that works with your schedule and be prepared for anything Mother Nature throws at you.