ST. CHARLES, Mo. (KMOX) — If you find yourself sneezin' and wheezin' a lot these days, there's a good reason for that.
"We have officially started the tree pollen season here in Missouri," said Dr. Kim Waterhouse, an allergy and immunology physician with SSM Health Medical Group in St. Charles County. "We are just at the very start of it, so you are going to see tree pollen levels rising every day from here on out till we get to the middle of May. That's when tree allergy sufferers will get a little bit of a break. But people with grass allergies will start seeing grass pollen at that time lasting till about the beginning of June."
So how bad might this spring allergy season be?
"Every year we have been seeing an increase in the severity of the pollen season and that is thought to be due to climate change," Dr. Waterhouse tells KMOX. "We are seeing with the warmer temperatures in general that the trees are releasing more pollen and the pollen tends to be more potent than what we have seen in years past. Also, the seasons are lasting longer than what we have seen before."
If you suffer from spring allergies, Dr. Waterhouse says there is a lot you can do to protect yourself.
"For starters, I would recommend some environmental controls," said Dr. Waterhouse. "There would be things you can do at home to reduce your exposure, such as keeping your windows closed -- both at home and in the car. I would recommend watching the pollen counts and on days you see that the pollen levels are high or very high, I would definitely try to limit the amount of time you are outdoors. And if you are outside, at the end of the day come inside, take a shower and change your clothes so you don't continue to expose yourself to that pollen."
And if that doesn't work, consider seeking some medical relief.
"The good news is most of the medications we use to treat allergies are now available over the counter," said Dr. Waterhouse. "I recommend starting with an antihistamine such as Zyrtec. I also recommend using a nasal spray and I generally start with recommending Flonase. And if that doesn't help control your symptoms, then I would suggest seeing an allergist and getting skin testing done. You can also ask your allergist if you are a good candidate for allergy shots."
With all of today's advances in allergy treatments, Dr. Waterhouse says there's no need to suffer with allergies anymore.