Doctors advise caution for springtime allergy season

Doctors are warning people that the spring allergy season will become more intense as the temperatures start to rise.

"March was pretty cold so the season has gotten a slow start, but with the warm weather coming up this week I expect the trees will be dumping their pollen into the air," said Curt Watkins, an allergist.

Doctors say trees can start to release pollen as early as late February. 

Typical symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, congestion and itchy eyes.

"If you have a runny nose, it could just be a plain old virus or irritation from dust into the environment," said Watkins, "Allergy suffers tend to have more durable symptoms, so it will go on for months opposed to a virus that should be a week or less." 

To avoid intense symptoms, they encourage people to seek care. 

"Nobody likes going to the doctor, but this is a situation where relatively easy steps and very safe medications can make a big difference," Watkins said.