Itchy eyes, runny nose, drippy sinus? It's the season

That chorus of sneezing, sniffling, and coughing you're hearing could be Mother Nature's payback for the unseasonably warm weather she gave us a few months ago.

As Laura Landro pointed out in her Wall Street Journal column ("The Informed Patient," March 13, 2012), "Mild winter temperatures in many parts of the country - the fourth warmest winter since record-keeping began - have triggered an unusually early release of pollen from trees. That bodes badly for the millions of people who suffer from allergic rhinitis - commonly known as hay fever. Allergists are predicting a longer, and more intense, allergy season than normal ... [with] even more severe symptoms for allergy patients, especially those with asthma."

What to do? Read on.