North Texas doctors give tips to deal with oppressive winter allergies

DALLAS - Winter allergies have a lot of North Texans sneezing and looking for relief.

Our warmer than usual weather has led to a pollen explosion that's covering most of the state right now.

FOX 4 spoke with North Texas doctors to get advice on how to navigate a different type of winter sniffles. 

North Texans experience winter allergies

Winter allergy season is in full bloom. Just ask the folks FOX 4 found out-and-about on Katy Trail in Dallas.

Daniela Rodriguez-Lorraine said she's been sneezing a coughing more often than normal recently.

Susan Hernandez said she tends to get a stuffy nose and more congestion during high-pollen times like these.

Jorge Rodriguez-Lorrain says his allergies got a lot worse when he moved to North Texas from Connecticut just last month.

NTX doctors give advice

Doctor Nathan Luke is a family medicine physician at Prism Health North Texas. He sees lots of allergy sufferers in his clinic.

Check out the National Allergy Map below, which shows all of North Texas in the red.

 Doctor Kareem Haroun is an ear, nose and throat specialist. Haroun says it's very common to have a peak in cedar allergies this time of year.

And because we keep bouncing back and forth between warm and cold temperatures, that results in the release of more pollen, which can dry out your sinuses and make your allergies worse.

His advice is to wash your nose with saline rinses, avoid high-irritant areas, and use air filters. In the case of worse reactions, he recommends over-the-counter medicines such as nasal sprays. He does say he prefers not to recommend decongestants for simple allergies. 

When will allergy season end?

FOX 4 asked the doctors when we could catch a break.

They say if the weather stays cool enough for long enough, then we may get a small drop in the pollen counts, which would help.