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Colorado could be in for bad allergy season

Posted at 11:56 PM, Mar 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-17 08:11:12-04

Spring isn't technically here until March 20, but for allergy sufferers like Kris Lewis, it might as well be here.

"My face is continuously a snot faucet," Lewis said.

Lewis is part of the 1 in 5 who suffers from allergies. Twenty-percent of the population who could be in for a particularly brutal allergy season.

"These nice warm temperatures helps push the trees out of dormancy and shrubs out of dormancy and they're starting to grow," said Jane Rozum, a horticulturist at Colorado State University.

"We got a little bit of an earlier spike because we had this warm stretch," said Dr. Rohit Katial, an allergist at National Jewish Health.

Dr. Katial said tree pollen is the biggest antagonist right now. Couple that with recent wind, and people like Kris are nose deep in snot.

"Zyrtec didn't work, Claritin didn't work, Allegra didn't work," Lewis said.

"At this time of year, there's a lot of fluctuation in the pollen counts, up and down, and really in some ways it makes people feel worse," Dr. Katial said.

The cold, wet weather could bring some welcome relief but it will only be temporary, Katial said. Grasses will kick up in May and June.

Dr. Katial added he's seen a lot of success in over-the-counter nasal spray and antihistamines and said often it just comes down to finding what works best for you.

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