00:00Have you had a sore throat lately or maybe a runny nose? If so, allergies may be the culprit
00:04and the dry warm weather we're experiencing could be making things worse. Don't get
00:08encouraged by that video to just to just sneeze in the middle of air. I've never done that in my
00:13life but you've done it like 300 times. All right Fox 5's Arthur Qian talked with an allergist about
00:19everything that's floating around in the air. If you look around you can spot the culprit or at
00:25least the co-conspirator. Pollen has been building up and while we've been basking in our extended
00:30summer weather, the lack of rain that makes it more enjoyable is also allowing pollen to stack
00:36up to very high levels. Yeah we definitely need something. I was just thinking about how it's
00:41actually too warm for the time of year. The fact that it's November next week is pretty ridiculous.
00:46We need rain. Do you feel, had you noticed that it's been a dry season? Absolutely yeah we even
00:52talked about that this morning that it's been drying yeah and it's going to be dry for five
00:56four days. There is a ton of pollen out there right now. Usually this time of year we have frost
01:03which actually depletes the amount of pollen that's in the air. Dr. Marie Cavuto-Patrizzo is an
01:09allergist and immunologist at Northwell Health. She says usually by this time of year not only does
01:15the rain wash pollen away but dipping temperatures bring a frost at least at night that neutralizes
01:21the amount of pollen in the air and since neither has been happening, her patients as young as three
01:26years old are reporting symptoms including congestion, runny nose, coughing and those with
01:31asthma are having a tougher time too. We're definitely getting more patient visits, more
01:36acute phone calls for patients who are suffering and patients who are just not feeling well on
01:41their regular medication regimen. The good news is that we're not helpless and allergists have
01:46this advice to protect yourself with from limiting time spent outdoors to closing your windows to
01:52using air conditioners if you want to cycle fresh air into your home and if you do spend any
01:57significant amount of time outdoors to shower so the pollen washes off and if you're still feeling
02:02it over-the-counter medications can be used to treat your symptoms. There are really two main
02:08pollen seasons here in the northeast. The one in the spring is where the pollen comes from grass
02:12and trees and in the fall it comes from weed and that's what's accumulating right now. A season
02:17that's built up so much pollen experts say will likely need more than one good storm
02:22to wash enough of it away to make a difference. Arthur Chien, Fox 5 News.
Comments