CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It's that time of the year again. Spring allergy season is upon us and it is affecting many in the Coastal Bend.
Juan Olivarez, a Bay Area resident, is one of many neighbors dealing with his fair share of allergies right now.
"I would say this season has been, extraordinarily, just different. It has been, I don't wanna say worse, but it's been more challenging for sure," Olivarez said.
Dr. Eric Baggerman of Amistad Health explained that he has been seeing more patients with more allergies recently.
So what is causing allergies?
"When things are in the air, they touch usually right, the mucosal system, the insides of the nasal passages and everything. And our body reacts to it," Baggerman said.
KRIS 6 Meteorologist Stefanie Lauber pointed to specific seasonal factors contributing to the current allergy situation.
"During the springtime we're seeing a lot of grass pollen," Lauber said. "We're also at times when we have cold fronts come through that can bring other pollens from trees like mountain cedar from the hill country and it's just a transition time of spring where we have warmer temperatures and all the plants are ready to bloom."
However, there are some allergens that are specifically here in Corpus Christi.
“A lot of allergens aren't just from the plants,” Lauber said. “Sometimes during the spring time frame there are agricultural burns that happen down in Mexico and then the wind can bring that here. So, we tend to see that on hazy days and also we've had some fires lately and the smoke can be very irritating to the sinuses and to the lungs, especially for people who are more sensitive.
According to Dr. Baggerman, common allergy symptoms include congestion, watery eyes, and itchy throat.
"When you do have those types of symptoms, the primary treatment for allergies is antihistamines because in the allergic response our body releases antihistamines from a type of cell and that's what causes these symptoms that we have," he said.
Dr. Baggerman told KRIS 6 News that sometimes the best thing to do is to stay inside if you can.
For those struggling with allergies this season, Olivarez offers a realistic perspective: "Good luck. That's the message I would say because I don't know that you can really get away from that, right? I mean, you, it is what it is, you deal with it as best you can and you hope it's not that bad next year."
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