Experts Say Seasonal Allergies Worse Than Ever

Fall has just begun and most of us are looking forward to the foliage, but seasonal fall allergies are making it hard for some to enjoy Berkshire County's most colorful season. Not to mention the fact that these days when you sneeze or even sniffle in public, you garner some less than friendly glances.

The sneezing, itchy eyes, and runny nose are all part of the seasonal allergies people are experiencing this fall, making your favorite Fall activities like apple picking, going to the pumpkin patch, or getting on a hay ride less than enjoyable.

Dr. Johnathan Bayuk with Allergy and Immunology Associates of New England told Western Mass News that seasonal allergies are continuing to get worse.

So we actually started seeing significant ragweed pollen back in August, which is the predominate fall allergy we have...We have a lot more pollen in the last several years and that has to do with climate change as the pollen counts have gone up every year... In the spring, we have trees really early. We have the junipers and then we get into the hardwoods and those kind of melt into the grass pollen season in the summer then we get ragweed in the fall

Although some allergy symptoms are similar to some coronavirus symptoms, doctors said there are big difference.

There’s no fever involved and people with COVID that get significant symptoms are much worse typically. Interestingly, the asthma that was thought to be a really big concern with COVID hasn’t really panned out that way and patients with average asthma, it seems the risk of those people is very similar to the population

Bayuck said it’s totally normal if your nose is running and your eyes are itchy. That’s just your fall allergies making their presence known.