Sinuses beware — unseasonably warm weather ushers in early allergy season, high pollen counts

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Wednesday marked the official start of spring, but some unseasonable heat earlier in March brought an early beginning to allergy season.

Allergy season is typically confined to the nine months of spring, summer and fall. But Dr. Elias Akl, an immunologist at Penn Medicine Becker ENT and Allergy, says climate change has expanded the window and worsened the issue.

“We can say that, because of climate change, there’s more people who are allergic now,” Akl said. “People who were allergic are having more symptoms, and their symptoms are lasting longer.”

Akl says those symptoms tend to include runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion and even asthma attacks and increased asthma severity. And the intensity of those symptoms can vary, depending on pre-existing conditions.

Most patients develop allergies between the ages of 8 and 10, according to Akl, but issues can occur further down the road.

“I’ve also had patients who have never had any allergies, and now at the age of 30 or 35, they started developing them,” he said. “It’s more common to be allergic growing up and continue to be allergic but it’s also not uncommon to develop allergies later on in life.”

And when tree pollen is as abundant as it has been, it’s not just people with allergies who have to watch out.

“Pollen can also act as an irritant in high numbers, and can still irritate the patient. Even though they might not be allergic, it won’t be as severe or as bad as if they were truly allergic,” said Akl.

Medical experts say when the pollen count is high, stay inside, keep your car windows up, and wash your clothes and shower immediately after going out.

“If the pollen count is really high outside, wearing a mask outside might help with that,” suggested Akl, “and not immediately sitting on their sofa or their bed when they come from outside.”

And if symptoms get bad enough, it may be time for medication. But Akl warns against leaning on some of those non-steroid-based nasal sprays you’ll find over the counter.

“If they’re used for more than three days in a row, patients tend to get what’s known as ‘rebound rhinitis.’ So their symptoms become worse and then they start to have to use the nose spray more to get better relief,” he said.

If symptoms get bad enough, experts warn that allergy shots may be required.