5 Things To Help Allergy Sufferers

You can hear the sniffling and sneezing all over Duluth. We're only a few days into spring and allergy sufferers are ready to wave the white flag.

The pollen count broke a record Monday at over 8,000. That record was shattered on Tuesday with a count of 9,369. Wednesday's count dropped to 5,174, but was still high. Some relief may be coming with rain that will wash away the pollen Thursday or Friday.

So what's an allergy sufferer to do?

Patch talked to Allergist Dr. Thomas Chacko of . He offered these 5 tips to help get allergy sufferers through the rough days ahead:

1. Leave the windows up in the car and down in the home, even on nice days like we've been seeing lately. Use the  instead.
2. Take baths and change your clothes if you've spent a lot of time outside to wash off the pollen. Wash your hands and your face often if you can't take a bath.
3. Wash pets after they've come in from outside. They've been rolling in the allergens while playing in the yard or walking through the park.
4. like Claritin and Zyrtec work well. Take those if you have symptoms and need relief.
5. If the OTC medications don't work, see a doctor. An allergist can prescribe a steroid nasal spray or allergy shots.

Do you have tips to help allergy sufferers? Leave them in the comments section below.