Unseasonable allergies: Crazy temperature swings bringing the sneezes early
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The unusually warm weather for February is having an unexpected impact and now more allergy sufferers are finding themselves having trouble much earlier than usual.
There is no question the weather has had an impact but it's not because of what you may think.
Spring brings the beauty of blooming and the allergies that come with it.
"Typically, the spring pollen season starts with tree pollens and there's been none of those yet," explained AHN Pediatric Allergy Immunology Specialist, Russel Traister. "What I suspect is happening is sometimes with warmer weather, we can start to have more humidity inside the house and that can sort of increase some of the indoor allergens that we can experience."
He specifically referred to things like dust, dust mites, pet allergens, and even some indoor mold that could come up.
Then there's the impact of dramatic temperature swings from 20 to 70 and back.
"What can happen is people's noses will start running and when that happens, it's actually not an allergic process," he said. "It's more the nerves and their nose are just overly sensitive to those temperature changes and sometimes you'll get a little extra runny nose because of that."
Traister did say that you don't have to suffer, if you're having itching in your nose or eyes, taking an anti-histamine should help.
He added that things like Flonase or a steroid nose spray that you can get over the counter can help as well.