Sacramento Allergy Season Hitting Hard After Recent Rainfall

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — April showers bring May flowers, they say, except those flowers and other plants are blooming early, because of the recent rainfall.

The early blooms have a lot of people scratching and sniffling more than usual.

Many people who have allergies find it to be a torturous experience when they go outside without taking allergy medicine.

Dr. Travis Miller is an expert at keeping even the worst patient allergies at bay.

He has seen an uptick in the number of patients who are seeking treatment for their allergies.

According to Dr. Miller, the pollen count in the Sacramento area is much higher now, compared to the last few years because of the fluctuating wet and warm weather.

"Climate change has something to do with it, we are seeing an earlier pollen season, a longer pollen season and a higher pollen count."

Dr. Miller says there is a way to battle those allergies.

He has been prescribing Grastek and Rowitek, two new and popular allergy medications.

"You place it under your tongue daily, it's fast and more convenient because you don't have to come to the doctor to get shots, and it works very well for grass, pollen and weeds," he adds.

Combining a prescription with allergy shots has been a life saver for Karanbir Gill.

Gill says "I can be outside whenever I want; I can mow the lawn and play with my kids and go biking."

Gill has been coming in to get his allergy shots every two to four weeks, and says his treatment doesn't give him full relief – but he's happy.

Dr. Miller says the only way to get full relief is to remove yourself physically from your environment, which could mean moving to a new location