Early Allergy Season: Pollen
If your eyes are already starting to itch and you can’t stop sneezing…you’re not alone. The mild winter weather has kick-started an early allergy season. Spring is officially here, and pollen is too. Of course, those with allergies are not exactly excited about the yellow dust that’s starting to collect everywhere.
Those out enjoying the Spring weather at Shakespeare Park Wednesday say that the pollen that’s floating around makes this time of year, bittersweet. Louann Morbadelli says “I’m watching the pollen build up on everything around my house, the deck, the cars”. Gerina Mccoy  says “As soon as it stopped getting cold and that pollen started falling down on the cars, it started affecting me right away.”
Allergy Specialist, Dr. J. Allen Meadows says that in order to find relief from allergies you first need to know what exactly you’re allergic to. “Well a lot of people do think they are allergic to pollen just in general to pollen but really the way our immune system works is you’re allergic to a very specific type of pollen” says Meadows.
Besides an allergy test, Meadows says that you should leave pollen wear it belongs, outside. He says “well people say ‘I’ll just open the windows for just a few hours’…well opening the windows for just a few hours is about like taking your bed to the tall grass on the interstate and leaving it there permanently we don’t want to do that we want to keep the windows closed.”
Dr. Meadows says that you should also be sure to wash your hair after coming in from outside, pollen can stick around there for a while. He adds “I don’t tell my patients not to enjoy outside but with the right combination of medicines and avoiding things most of our patients can live just a completely normal life, and that’s our goal.
According to Dr. Meadows, right now were drowning in tree and grass pollen. If the last few days have days have had you sniffling, one of the two could  be the culprit.
