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Allergy Season Is Here, And It Could Be Worse Than Usual

By Lynne Adkins

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - It's April, and that means allergy season has arrived....which is certainly nothing to joke about.

It's been a cold winter and that's leading right into an explosive allergy season, according to Dr. John Krouse -- chairman of the Department of Otolaryngolgy-Head and Neck Surgery at Temple University School of Medicine:

"I think it's probably going to be worse than average. I think patients are more symptomatic at this point."

Temple Dr
Dr. John Krouse with Temple University (Credit: Temple Health Communications)

Dr. Krouse says things are already starting to get bad:

"I'm seeing patients come in with a lot of eye complaints, itching, a lot of nasal itching and discharge, so I'm beginning to see the tip of the iceberg in what I suspect will be a pretty problematic year."

He says once the sun warms up, the pollen will explode, and allergy season will peak at the end of the month:

"When we really do get the peak of pollination there are going to be a lot of miserable people."

And remember, if you have fever, chills, aches and pains, chances are it's a cold and not an allergy.

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