The nose knows: Allergy season here with vengeance

There may be a whiff of truth to claims by allergy sufferers who sniffle that this season is, well, a bigger headache than years past.

And now, more bad news: It's also lasting longer, prolonging the misery of the millions of people for whom spring is a punishment, not a pleasure.

Heavy snow and rain in some parts of the country have nourished a profusion of tree pollen, while a sudden shift to warm, sunny weather has made its release more robust. The deluges and -- in some places like Southeast Missouri -- flooding have pumped up the volume on mold. Add in the wind, and the suffering skyrockets.

Warnings about the difficult season have come from allergy specialists from New York to Atlanta, Chicago to California.

"This past week has been one of the worst ever," said Lynne Ritchie, 70, as she bought allergy medicine this week at a Manhattan drugstore.

Dr. Stanley Schwartz hears that from patients all the time -- every year, in fact, he noted with a wry smile.

"Literally, every year is the worst year," said Schwartz, chief of allergy and rheumatology for Kaleida Health and the University at Buffalo. "Now it may actually be, but when it's there and you're feeling it, you don't remember what last year was like."

Pollen counts and allergy attacks vary widely from region to region, locality to locality and day to day, and no one entity tracks the full complexity of their ups and downs across the country. But everything is ripe this year for a historic season.

It's been an exceptionally rainy spring in much of the country, with several states east of the Mississippi River setting records for the wettest April since 1895; more than 20 inches of rain fell in Cape Girardeau last month. That means luxuriously blooming trees and a similar effect on mold.

"The mold will grow under the fallen leaves from last season," Schwartz said. "So if it's very wet, it isn't just the blooming plants but it's also the mold, and many people are allergic to multiple airborne allergens."

The widespread flooding in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois can add to the misery for allergy sufferers, especially those whose home was under water. According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, excess moisture and standing water contribute to the growth of mold in homes and other buildings. People who are allergic or sensitive to mold may experience stuffy nose, irritated eyes, wheezing, skin irritation or, in some cases, difficulty breathing.

When returning to a flooded home, the CDC recommends removing porous items that have been wet for more than 48 hours and that cannot be thoroughly cleaned and dried; clean everything else with detergent and water.

The highest tree pollen count in three years triggered a dangerous air quality warning last week in Chicago, where allergist Dr. Joseph Leija warned in a statement: "Itchy eyes, stuffy noses and fatigue will be common among Chicagoans with sensitive respiratory systems."

Medications used in the past may not be as effective if symptoms are worse this year, Reisacher said. Many of his patients in New York have required multiple drugs, including nasal sprays, oral antihistamines and eye drops.

Madison Sasser, a 21-year-old senior at Belmont University in Nashville, left her doctor's office with two kinds of nose spray and eye drops er already enduring an allergy-related sinus infection three weeks ago -- right before final exams.

"It's been awful," she said. "My eyes have been so itchy and red, and I sneeze and cough. It's just been terrible."

In Dallas, a windy spring is helping to scatter the allergens.

"We've had heavy winds and the tree pollens were in heavy bloom, and all the wind was causing a lot of people a lot of problems," said Jill Weinger, physician's assistant at the Dallas Allergy & Asthma Center, where some patients were returning for treatment after years of absence.