Minnesotans already suffering through brutal fall allergy season
WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. — There's a lot to love about this time of year. But there's one thing no one loves: fall allergies. And it seems this year's allergy season is especially itchy.
And one of Minnesota's newest residents, Adam Del Rosso, is feeling it.
"Sneezing, itchy eyes, dry eyes, you name the symptom, I probably have it," Del Rosso said.
He just moved from Pennsylvania to Minnesota to become WCCO's newest NEXT Weather meteorologist, and he is experiencing Minnesota's fall allergies.
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Dr. Elizabeth Placzek is a pediatrician with Children's Minnesota West St. Paul Clinic. She often treats allergies.
"Trees and grasses tend to happen in the spring and then pollen happens in the fall. Usually ragweed starts when the nights start to get longer and humidity goes up, and then we've seen higher temperatures lately, and so that really released a lot of ragweed into the air," Placzek said.
Those higher temperatures were a lot higher. Instead of 13 90-plus days this year, we've had 32. Scientists are linking hotter temps to longer allergy seasons.
Dr. Placzek says this one's already intense.
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"We're starting to see more kids with allergy symptoms and then allergy symptoms that are more severe than years prior," she said. "So kids that typically maybe just have a runny nose are coming in with more itchy eyes, itchy ears, cough, and also more asthma exacerbations."
Dr. Placzek is an allergy sufferer and outdoor lover herself, and says her advice may be hard to hear.
"The biggest things you can do is not track that pollen inside. So take your shoes off, bathe and change clothes before bed, keep your windows closed at night time despite it being so nice outside," she said.
But there are plenty of medicines for those itching to explore, like Del Rosso.
"I'm not gonna let the allergies stop me from having a good time and being outside, I can't do that," he said.
