Member Center

The Main Stream

Mild winter brings early allergy season

Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:54 PM
Updated: Feb 8, 2012 3:03 AM


Bookmark and Share
Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

TUCSON - Spring hasn't sprung yet, but allergens have. Doctors say a mild winter has lead to an earlier allergy season.

"Itchy eyes, sinus pressure, congestion," said Megan Jirele, an allergy sufferer in Tucson. "When it's windy outside I get really symptomatic, blow my nose a lot. I get a lot of sinus infections if I don't take care of it."

Dr. David Friedman says allergies are here already due to a warm December and the fact that weeds bloomed early this year, but spring rains will determine how bad allergies become. "And it might mean less severity in April and May if the weeds don't get a drink," said Friedman.

It all depends on how dry the desert becomes. Doctors say we simply can't predict the future, but good news, a early allergy season doesn't automatically equal a bad allergy season.

"If you're golfing 3 times a week, you're going to have more symptoms than someone's who's golfing twice a year," said Friedman.

Doctors say the best advice is to avoid allergens altogether, easier said than done. There are new medications on the horizon, but they are not FDA-approved yet. There are also over-the-counter medications and allergy shots that may be prescribed to you through a specialist.

Comments

Get Adobe Flash player

KVOA.com is Social!

Most Popular

DON'T MISS THESE!

Thumbnail
HALF-OFFERS

Why Pay Full Price for the Things You Want?

Thumbnail
KRISTI'S KIDS LIFESAVER 2012

Help save lives this summer!

Thumbnail
NEWS 4 TUCSON ON FACEBOOK

Become a Facebook Fan!

Thumbnail
@KVOA ON TWITTER

Follow us!

Thumbnail
BECOME A MEMBER

Sign up on KVOA.com for newsletters, exclusive deals, and more!

Thumbnail
KVOA.COM LATEST CONTESTS

Win! Win! Win!

Thumbnail
KVOA MOBILE APPS

Get news, weather and more on your smartphone and tablet!

Thumbnail
TEXT ALERTS

Get texts for news, traffic, deals and more!

Thumbnail
KRISTI'S KIDS

Stories and videos with Kristi's Kids

Thumbnail
NEWS 4 TUCSON @ 4

What's happening on News 4 @ 4

Thumbnail
ADVERTISE WITH KVOA.COM

Let us help grow your business

Thumbnail
COMMUNITY CALENDAR

What's happening?

Thumbnail
KVOA PROGRAM SCHEDULE

What's on KVOA and when!

Thumbnail
CONTACT US

Contact info for our department heads

Thumbnail
MEET US!

KVOA's on air personalities!

Thumbnail
KVOA CAREERS

Work at News 4 Tucson

Thumbnail
RSS FEEDS

Complete feeds of all KVOA.com stories