South Side San Antonio clinic Opens as live oak allergies flare up
This article was originally published by Texas Public Radio. To view the original publication, please visit the link here.
South Texas Allergy & Asthma Medical Professionals (STAAMP) opened up a new clinic in an underserved area of San Antonio's South Side on Wednesday, just as live oak pollen fills the air.
The clinic is located at 3120 Sidney Brooks Drive.
Dr. Erika Gonzalez, the CEO and president of STAAMP, said access to allergy care and respiratory care, like that in zip code 78207, is "essentially non-existent."
"Those areas of town tend to have not only worse symptoms of asthma, but also higher hospitalization rates," she said. "And we also saw that they had the increased numbers of missed school days due to asthma."
The clinic's opening comes just in time to treat those allergic to live oak pollen, which can exacerbate asthma and is one of the city's most notorious allergy seasons. The others are spring and summer grasses, ragweed and cedar in the winter.
Live oak trees across San Antonio, like this one, slowly shed old leaves and pollen before new leaves appear, a process that can run from March and into May.
The lime green live oak pollen can coat vehicles, driveways, and sidewalks and even people themselves. The particles cause sneezing, congestion, and eye irritation.
There's so many live oaks in the city because the native plant is popular among landscapers for its tolerance against drought, freezes, insects, and most diseases, except for oak wilt.
Gonzalez said the best advice for the worst of sufferers is to avoid spending the morning hours outdoors during live oak pollen season, which she said tends to start in March, peak in April, and trail off in May. She said walks are best reserved for the afternoon.
"When [you] come back inside, go and shower or at least put on some new clothes because it tends to stick to your clothes and also to your hair," she said. That includes men's beards, so they need to be rinsed of pollen too.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation said San Antonio ranked 37th among allergy capitals in the nation in 2025, but Gonzalez said the Alamo City is often in the top 10.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg appeared at the ribbon-cutting to show his support.
"Access to quality health care should not be determined by zip code," he said. "This clinic not only addresses a critical health need in our community but also reflects the broader effort to expand medical resources and improve health equity for all San Antonians."
The clinic also unveiled a mural by Bernadette Pena called "Nuestra Gente" that honors Hispanic innovators in the STEM fields.
