‘It’s been terrible’: How to get relief for your springtime allergies

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT)—Claribel Marentes, her daughters and her husband all suffer from seasonal allergies.

“Start getting stuffy and then a lot of watery eyes too. It’s like we know when it’s coming,” Marentes said.

“Um, watery eyes and my throat starts to hurt. Itchy neck and itchy arms,” her 7-year-old daughter added.

“It’s been tough, and then it’s kicking up. So we have to definitely take our allergy medicine in the morning,” Marentes said.

If your allergies seem to hit harder this year, there is a good reason.

“Well, I think it’s worse than a lot of the seasons. The reason is, is that usually we get some warm days in February and start to get pollen, and then it gets cold, and it’s kind of moderated, but this year it was all bottled up. It stayed cold, and finally, when it got warm in March, it just exploded. So it’s been terrible,” Dr. William T. Hark with Richmond Allergy and Asthma Specialists said.

Dr. Hark also says you shouldn’t have to suffer through it because plenty of over-the-counter medications can help.

“Maybe try Allegra first, and if that doesn’t work, then try Zyrtec or Claritin. So any order to rotate the medicines, and sometimes people respond to one better than the other, so you have to sort of try and find out,” Dr. Hark said.

If your symptoms are congestion-related, nasal sprays like Flonase and Nasacort are most effective.

But there are other options too.

“If the medicines are not helping, or if you hate taking medications, there is the option of allergy shots. And that’s a natural approach where we give you small amounts which you’re allergic to and build up immunity. And that’s the way to try and decrease the use of medicines and eventually even cure the allergies,” Dr. Hark said.

He says another option, while not scientifically proven, is eating local honey.

“Some people, it seems to work and, I mean, it can’t hurt, and you support your local beekeepers, but you wanna make sure you get the local honey,” Dr. Hark said. “And it’s not to be given to babies.”

Dr. Hark says there are other simple things you can do, too.

“Like, keep the windows closed, air conditioning on. Don’t hang laundry out to dry. If you’ve been outside a whole lot, take a bath or a shower before you go to bed. Wash that off, especially, and it gets the pollen gets in your hair and on your clothing. So you definitely want to wash that off. If you’re gardening, wear a mask,” Dr. Hark said.

As for Marentes and her kids, no pollen will slow them down.

“This morning we came out and we saw our car full of pollen, but I was like we’re gonna go to the park. It’s spring break, so get out and enjoy it,” Marentes said.

Copyright 2025 WWBT. All rights reserved.