MOLINE, Ill — As we've enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures this February, some of our News 8 colleagues have noticed an uptick in sneezing and sniffling. So, we turned to a local allergist with a question: Does early spring weather mean early spring allergies?
Dr. Mark Blaser is an allergist with Medical Arts Associates in Moline. He says even if it looks like your trees are budding, you probably aren't experiencing spring allergies just yet.
"We're still a little bit ahead of the allergy season," Blaser said. "The part of the tree you're allergic to is the pollen. The buds might be starting to prop up and you see a little bit of that red hue against the sky. But they have to bud out and start looking a little fluffy to have the pollen part of the tree starting to do its thing."
Although the ground is warm and there's no snow around, Blaser estimates pollen won't start impacting your allergies for another three to four weeks.
Around this area, allergies start to become noticeable around the first week of April. During warm winters, Blaser says he sometimes sees symptoms popping up around the last week of March.
"The other thing is with kids in school and life being sort of back to normal after the COVID pandemic, there's an onslaught of viral illness giving the same overlapping symptoms," Blaser said.
If you're experiencing symptoms, Blaser suggests trying over-the-counter medicines, allergy injections or even an allergy test.
Blaser joined The Current on News 8 to discuss this season's allergy outlook. You can watch his full interview in the above video.
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