Chilly Winter, Speedy Warm-up Equals Spring Allergies

By Anne Harding
Jack Schwartz, 8, has had seasonal allergy symptoms in the past, but his parents never needed to give him medication. This year was different. On the way to his baseball league’s opening celebration in Stow, Massachusetts, the second-grader started crying so hard his mother was afraid he’d have a panic attack after pollen blew into his eyes through open car windows.
“His eyes were just burning; they were really red,” says his mother, Julie Glovin. Luckily, the family ran into a friend whose son also had seasonal allergies, who recommended antihistamine eye drops for Jack. “Within a minute, he was much better,” Glovin says. Now he’s taking Zyrtec for kids, and so far is doing well.
Just as spring is the time for getting outside to enjoy blooming flowers and baseball pitches, it’s also a time of misery for allergy sufferers.
This year, some parts of the country are reporting a worse-than-usual allergy season—although your symptoms depend on where you live, experts say. Read More