There’s a Good Reason for Sneezin’ in Tyler Today

If you were feeling sneezy yesterday there was a good reason for it.  East Texas had high pollen counts over the weekend and it's supposed to get worse this week before it gets better.  So when will we be done with the itchy eyes and runny noses this spring?  

Pollen levels in Tyler were in the "medium-high" range yesterday at an 8.6 on a scale of 1 to 12, and the levels are at 9.5 today.  If you spent the weekend with a plugged nose, you weren't alone.  And Tuesday and Wednesday will be in the "high" range, even worse than today.  Pollen.com put out a map that shows our allergy forecast, and it predicts trips to the pharmacy for more Zyrtec.

Do you ever wonder what exactly your body is doing during an allergy attack?  I get curious about these things and learned on Pollen.com that it's not exactly the allergens themselves that are causing the symptoms, but the itchy throat and runny nose are a result of the body's response instead.  Apparently, we're working really hard to chase out those foreign substances, and that makes us sneeze.

These are the most common allergy symptoms, according to Pollen.com:

sneezing
wheezing
nasal congestion
coughing
itchy, watery eyes
runny nose
itchy throat
stomach ache
itchy skin
hives
fatigue
irritability

Cool.  We can blame the irritability on the trees and flowers, and not on work and stubborn kids and things.

67 million Americans suffer from allergies, and there are plenty of sniffles traveling around the office today. The trick is knowing if it's really allergies, or if it's a cold that co-workers are trying to spread around.  We'll keep the hand sanitizer nearby just in case.

Spring in East Texas is beautiful, and hopefully, you can see the green grass and bluebonnets through the watery eyes.  Hang in there.