Early blooms mean headaches for allergy sufferers in the Philadelphia region

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- While this week marked the official start of spring, some allergy sufferers may have noticed the symptoms of the season started earlier this year.

Experts say the unseasonably warm temperatures earlier in the month meant trees were able to bloom earlier than usual, meaning some trouble for those with allergies.

"It's not treating me kind," Johanna Dones said of the start of the season.

"Sometimes it causes problems with congestion, headaches. The only way to escape it is to stay home and we don't want to be cooped up," she continued. "We want to be able to come out and enjoy the air and the day, but the air doesn't seem to be so great."

She's not wrong and she's not alone. The CDC says more than 80 million Americans have seasonal allergies and the season started early this year.

"We had a short winter, and so were seeing patients coming in with itchy eyes, sneezing, runny nose a little bit earlier than we've seen in previous years," said Dr. Gurston Nyquist, a sinus and allergy specialist at Jefferson Health.

That's been an upward trend over time. According to the EPA, the growing season in the United States is about two weeks longer than it was in the 90s. That means two more weeks for allergy sufferers to be exposed to pollen.

"There's something called the priming effect, so if you have repeated exposure to the allergens again and again, people's response becomes greater and greater," said Dr. Nyquist.

Symptoms are getting worse too.

"Allergy season sometimes for me is just nonstop depending on the cycles of the blooms," said Brittany Tieu.

She and her friend, Kaitlyn Flanagan, said they're getting a little relief with the help of over-the-counter medication.

Still, they're willing to endure the symptoms to experience spring.

"We definitely get some sniffles when we go out on walks in the morning and whatnot but still love seeing all the blooms," said Flanagan.

Experts do say rainstorms, like the one expected Saturday, may provide temporary relief as the water washes away pollen.

The trees, however, are still in bloom and the pollen is expected to be back shortly after the weather subsides.