"My nose is already clogged"

     You don't need to tell Megan Jobes of Gainesville that allergy season is back and ahead of schedule this year. Jobes said,

"Actually really recently, in the last couple of weeks its gotten really bad."

     It's something that Jobes goes through every single year, but that doesn't mean it gets any easier. Jobes said,

"With a cold you have a cold for a couple of days or whatever and it goes away. with allergies your eyes are constantly itchy, your nose is constantly runny, you sound terrible, and a lot of times it gives you a lot of fatigue."

     And she's not alone, according to Assistant Professor John Harwick in the U-F Department of Ear, Nose and Throat, patients have been coming in steadily for the past month. Harwick said,

"Probably from the middle to late January time, I'd say really the last week of January is when people really started to notice."

     Harwick says the main reason for the early start is because of pollen.
     He says the weather has played an important role in the timing. Harwick said,

"With the dryness this winter, and also last week the temperatures really shot up, and that seemed to be when the pollen came out."

     So if the season started a few weeks early, does that mean it will end a few weeks early as well? Not exactly. Harwick said,

"For many patients, the season really starts now and it really isn't over until late into the fall"

     With the season just getting underway and not going anywhere anytime soon. Harwick says to keep your hanky handy.

" Keep the nose clean, so if you're out and exposed to pollen, so what works well is just an over the counter saline irrigation type solution for the nose.

    But for Jobes it boils down to something pretty simple

" I love living in Florida because its beautiful out here, so i will live with my allergies."

     The price you pay to live in the Sunshine State.