HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — You can see it throughout Hampton Roads.
Flowers are blooming, trees are filling out, and that familiar shade of yellow covers your car in the morning, or collects in globs in the gutter after a good rain.
“This year is an incredibly high pollen season,” said Dr. Eric Karlin with Allergy Partners, who has already seen the effects and says 2025 is going to be no walk in the park. “I’m seeing a lot of patients with allergies in my office this week.”
And if you plan on going outside, know that there’s something in the air, and there’s no escaping it.
“Currently, we’re in April,” Karlin said. “We’re seeing very high counts of pollen to start this year. … The tree pollen, the grass did also just start coming out. And we’re going to expect the grass pollen to stay high for at least the next several months. Throughout the summer, we would expect the tree pollen to eventually die down over the next two months or so, but right now, very, very high pollen counts are in the air.”
Virginia is one of the most challenging states to live in if you have allergies, but it doesn’t mean you have to stay locked inside this summer.
“Some things you can do are treat your allergies with medications,” Karlin said. “Oral antihistamines can be very effective. Nasal steroid sprays can be extremely effective, although take longer to work. We can also use antihistamine eye drops to help with conjunctivitis symptoms.”
And if those don’t work, it might be time to consult a professional.
“I would really encourage patients who are really suffering with their allergy symptoms to consider consultation with an allergist,” Karlin said. “During that consultation, we’re able to do allergy testing and discuss different treatment options with our patients. Those treatment options could include medication management, or even immunotherapy, which is allergy shots to desensitize the symptoms, and hopefully, significantly, improve their symptoms of the allergy.”
