HOUSTON – Tree pollen is about to cause some trouble in Houston, and this year it may also cause confusion as people wonder if their symptoms are just seasonal allergies or COVID-19 related. “We are on the brink of our spring allergy season,” said Dr. Michael Kaplan, an ENT with Houston Sinus Center. But if you have a history of allergies and you can correlate it with the time and the exposure, it’s probably just allergies,” said Kaplan. “The tree pollen is going to start to accumulate in the next few weeks. Then you’re looking at grass pollen, but the tree pollen is the big culprit here,” said Kaplan.