WASHINGTON – Itchy eyes. Scratchy throats. Stuffy noses. Allergy sufferers already know it. The spring allergy season arrived early.
“When you have an earlier start to the season, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your season will end earlier,” Dr. Rachel Schreiber of Shady Grove Adventist Hospital tells WTOP.
“I think we could be in for a really long pollen season this year.”
With the warmer weather this winter and flowers blooming earlier, the spring allergy season started in mid-February.
The forecast for the next couple of days will have many people outdoors. It calls for temperatures in upper 70s Tuesday and Wednesday and mid 70s Thursday and Friday.
Schreiber says she knows it’s tough not to go outside on these beautiful days, so she recommends the following:
- Keep your windows closed.
- If you can, limit your time outdoors.
- Make sure you take a shower after being outside.
- Change your clothes after being outside.
While over-the counter medicines do offer some relief, she recommends allergy sufferers see their doctors.
With lots of pollen outside and people’s sensitivities to it, Schreiber says over-the-counter remedies may not work.
“It’s almost like having a fire and putting a sprinkler on it.”
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