Everywhere you look, spring is in full swing. The grass is green, trees and flowering plants are blooming, and, over the last few days at least, there’s been a thin yellow film on almost every outdoor surface.
For allergy sufferers, it’s among the worst times of the year.
“This is our busy time of the year,” said Dr. Karthik Krishnan, an allergist with the Sevierville office of the Allergy, Asthma & Sinus Center. “We’ve had extremely high pollen counts here the last several weeks, and that definitely has made it worse for allergy sufferers.”
Weather.com’s PollenCast indicates “very high” tree pollen counts on four of the last seven reported days. In fact, every day since April 3 has recorded at least a score of “high” on the site’s scale of measurement.
What can you do if you suffer from allergies? Over the counter medication is an option.
“Zyrtec and Allegra are the ones I prefer because I see my patients get significant relief from them,” said Dr. Gupta.
Doctor Gupta also adds that that if you want to go outside but you have seasonal allergies, avoid going out during the early morning hours or at night…that’s when pollen counts are especially high.
And just because you don’t have allergies now…doesn’t mean you won’t get them later in life.
“Allergies can develop at any age. so we have patients come in who are very young and so even if patients have not had allergies in the past can still develop it, especially with the exposure we are having this season,” said Dr. Gupta.
If you think you may have allergies–talk to you doctor about your best option of treatment.
Agencies/Canadajournal