allergies

Ah, spring in Ocean County! All the signs are starting to show up; flowers and trees blooming, "spring peepers" chirping away and, oh yeah, the sounds of sniffling and sneezing.

Twice as many people today with allergies than 25 years ago, and there are twice as many things people are now allergic to.

We've made it, Ocean County! Winter 2015/2016 is now firmly in our rear view mirrors and, if you think about it, we made it out relatively unscathed, save for the one big storm at the end of January. So now we can look forward to warmer weather, more time outdoors and, oh yeah, allergies.

The hint of an early spring may prompt allergy sufferers to wonder about the spring pollen season. One expert says it may start early.

A lot of Garden State residents are sneezing, wheezing and coughing, but they don’t have a cold or the flu.

A dry summer, courtesy of Mother Nature, delayed the start of autumn allergy season, but pollen levels are beginning to rise.

It's not your imagination. A growing number of adults and children in New Jersey are developing allergies, at all times of the year, even in the dead of winter when there's snow on the ground.

Years ago, peanut allergies were uncommon, but nowadays it seems like so many children are sensitive to those foods, prompting schools and summer camps to ban things like peanut butter.

I don't remember buying a yellow car, but that's sure what it's looked like the last week or so. The pollen in Ocean County has covered everything in a thick dusting of yellow gunk.

It's starting to feel more like spring, which means the trees are beginning to bloom, everything is turning green and a lot of Garden State residents are sneezing and feeling run down. But how do you know if you've spring allergies or a spring cold?