Allergy season nothing to sneeze at

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Itchy eyes, runny noses, sneezing and coughing. Yup it’s spring and also allergy season.

“Allergy season is just starting,” Dr. Amy Feldman said. “Usually tree pollen season starts whenever it gets warm and it stays warm.”

While winter colds are becoming fewer and far between, pollen is starting to keep people a little under the weather.

“The most common allergy symptoms are going to be the runny nose, the stuffy nose,” Dr. Feldman said. “There’s lots of sneezing, itchy watery eyes, itchy nose, and some people even get itchy ears too.”

Most people treat those symptoms with over-the-counter or prescription drugs, while others turn to some less conventional methods like a teaspoon of honey.

“My wife does yeah,” Adwin Ortiz said. “Local honey is supposed to help you with allergies in the area.”

But is there any truth behind that old wives’ tale?

“Well generally speaking the honey probably shouldn’t help that much,” Dr. Feldman said. “The reason is that when you’re allergic to pollens, you’re allergic to wind pollinated things, so that would be the different trees, grasses, weeds. And the pretty flowers and things that are bee pollinated, you generally are not allergic to because it’s not in the air for you to breathe in.”

Dr. Feldman says if you really don’t want to take medication for your allergies a saline solution can be used to clear nasal passages, but she says that most other home remedies do very little to ease allergy suffering.

To see the pollen report for our area, click here.