KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Melissa Johnson has asthma and allergies. She knows what it’s like to suffer when the spring allergy season hits.
“Oh shortness of breath, wheezing, watery eyes, things of that nature,” said Johnson.
Tree pollen is making life miserable for people with allergies. Children’s Mercy Hospital collects the pollen count every day. Children’s Mercy Hospital allergy specialist Dr. Jay Portnoy said the pollen count is astronomically high.
"The mere presence of having that many particles in the air is enough to trigger irritations affecting your eyes and cause eye symptoms. Itchy, watery eyes you feel like you have to rub them, squinting. It’s really unpleasant," said Portnoy.
Allegra and Zyrtec and generic brands of both are the go-to over the counter allergy medicines. But some people are complaining these drugs are simply not stopping their allergy symptoms. They’re wondering if their bodies have built up an immunity to the medicine.
Dr. James Sterner, allergist at Kansas City allergy and asthma associates in Overland Park, said, “Most of the time when people feel like it’s really not working anymore it’s because those allergic cells are just getting overloaded with the amount of pollen and that kind of stuff that’s out there.”
Melissa got tested for allergies—took allergy shots and now only takes over the counter medicine when she needs it.
She still notices other people suffering and remembers when she was in the same boat.
“I’m not missing that, I’m definitely not,” she said laughing.
You can find the daily pollen count in the Kansas City metro on the Children’s Mercy website.
