Mild Winter + Wet Weather = Brutal Allergy Season
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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — You can thank the mild winter and wet weather for what medical expert say will be a brutal allergy season.
And there's more bad news! Sunny Kallmer, a certified physician assistant with Texan Allergy, says the sniffling and sneezing will last a little longer this time around... and there's a reason.
Kallmer says this year's allergy season has, "…hit a lot harder, higher and earlier than usual because of the mild winter, and also yes all the rain. Due to our strange weather and mild weather, our spring has sprung! Our springs trees, grasses, especially the oak, have hit."
Kallmer says we usually don't see this level of oak, ash, and elm pollen until early April.
She expects a run on over-the-counter products and the new allergy drops now on the market. "They do the exact same thing as a shot. We mix everything that you're allergic to in a small bottle and then you take it home. It's very easy, it's very affordable and convenient and patients just take three drops a day under their tongue."
When it comes to allergies experts say this year is exceptional. "It is a different season," Kallmer explained. "I've never seen it hit this early."
There are other health consequences that come with the warmer than usual winter. An increase in allergies can lead to a compromised immune system and Graham Dodge, with sickweather.com, said that opens the door to all sorts of other health problems. "There tends to be an increase then in bronchitis and pneumonia. All of these things can pave the way for something like flu to take place," he said. "We definitely see an increase in tree pollen, lots of oak, hackberry and juniper. And all those produce allergens that cause this increase in flu season during warmer temperatures."
Dodge says his company map patterns of sickness and can even predict when a particular problem will cause a lot of health issues.
So what's the advice for allergy sufferers? Start taking medication before the particular pollen you're allergic to hits.
On a glass half full note -- hopefully you'll appreciate this in 20 years, when all those newly pollinated trees are proving shade from the Texas sun.
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