2013 Hay Fever Season Proves Nothing (Actually, Plenty!) To Sneeze At
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The spring allergy season, which had been forecast to be a bad one, is living up to its billing.
The itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, and runny nose are, for many of us, a rite of spring. But this year seems to be taking it to another level.
"Much worse than other years," said one woman. "I haven't suffered this bad in, I'd say, ten years."
"I'm in sunglasses because my eyes are watering so bad," said another.
Dr. John Cohn, professor of medicine and pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University, says it has been a busy season.
"The conditions for the trees and for the pollenation have been really excellent, in the sense that we've had enough rain to keep the trees happy," he explains, "but it's been dry enough that there have been plenty of days where the pollen is free to blow around."
The good news, Dr. Cohn advises, is that we're nearing the end of tree pollen season. But then the grass pollen kicks in, generally through the middle or end of June.
