Ready For Spring? Be Ready For Allergies

The trade-off is all of the allergies since the melting started. But how will the return of the cold affect us?

WCCO's Molly Rosenblatt spoke with a doctor about what we can expect.

Our spring thaw means plenty of sneezing for allergy sufferers. Deanna Wilson says her symptoms really ramped up within the last couple weeks.

"Itchy eyes, runny nose, post nasal drip. I kind of get a sore throat because of the post nasal drip, I kind of get fatigue too when my allergies aren't managed," Wilson said.

Dr. Pramode Kelkar specializes in allergy care. He says the season is already off to rough start.

"We started seeing patients last week and as of this week we've got a bunch of calls with allergy patients," Kelkar said.

He says there are plenty of ways to manage your symptoms. That includes several over the counter drugs that he calls very effective.

"Zyrtec, Allegra, Claratin, there are a variety of nose sprays, Flonase, Nasacor. The best thing people can do is talk to a pharmacist to get an idea of what's cheaper, what's most effective," Kelkar said.

One of the main reasons he's seeing more patients than usual, the weather. A longer winter means when allergy season hits, it hits hard.

"Especially when the weather is up and down. That can be worse for allergies. Because one day you're going to feel bad for allergy, next day slightly better, then it's worse again," Kelkar said.

With highs in the 50s on Wednesday and snow, along with lows in the teens expected this weekend, Dr. Kelkar says the forecast for allergy sufferers looks to only get worse.