America, brace yourself for a longer, stronger allergy season. If you're sniffling and sneezing now, just wait. The worst pollen levels are still to come.

But there are ways to stop suffering and start living.

Right now, allergens are at an all-time high. Twenty-three percent of all Americans fight outdoor allergies.

Pollen from trees, followed by grass in summer, and weed pollen in the fall are the biggest offenders.  When we breathe these allergens in, our immune system can over-react, producing a chemical called histamine.

Seasonal Misery

Drew and Brooke Kubovik have allergies, along with their two boys.

"Wheezing, running nose, watery eyes, just a horrible situation," Drew said, describing the misery.

Most enjoyed last winter's mild temperatures and the warmer weather most parts of the country experienced in the early part of spring this year. But that resulted in one of the worse allergy seasons on record.

"For many parts of the country, this is the winter that wasn't," meteorologist Craig Moeller, with WVEC-TV in Norfolk, Va., said.

He added that this year's allergy season caught much of the nation off-guard.

"It's been a very freakishly warm late winter, early spring," Moeller recalled. "And because of that, the pollen kicked up and the season started a little early."

The amount of pollen in the air changes like the weather, so pay attention to your local pollen forecast. Moeller said certain weather events affect the daily pollen counts.

"Certainly the rain will help to wash the atmosphere, it will bring down the pollen levels," he explained. "Winds tend to stir it up, you get more pollen movement and that can create some issues."

SOURCE: CBN News

Lorie Johnson