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DURHAM -- "Achoo!"
"Bless you."
If you've heard that exchange recently, chances are pollen is the villain.
Spring allergies are nothing to sneeze at, though, because they can erode the quality of life.
Take the case of Donna Giffen of Durham. She has year-round allergies, mainly from cats, mold and dust. But it's her husband who suffers from pollen allergies this time of year, which get so bad that his snoring forces him to sleep in the guest room.
"It's sad, but it's not for long," Giffen said. "By the end of the pollen season, everything goes back to normal. Unfortunately, we just found out that it's affecting our teenage daughter. Luckily, over-the-counter medications seem to control it."
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America explains on its website that for both chronic and seasonal victims, allergies are "an overreaction of the immune system to substances that usually cause no reaction in most individuals."
Most symptoms -- sneezing, wheezing, coughing and itching, particularly around mucous membranes like the eyes and nose -- are bothersome, but allergies are also linked to respiratory illnesses, including asthma.
Another spring allergy sufferer, Freida Gilchrist, originally from Durham and now living in Charlotte, is a textbook case.
"Pollen makes my eyes swell," she said. "It gives me terrible allergy infections and drainage. This is really horrible -- it closes my throat up."
Gilchrist said the problem lasts about two months -- usually March and April. She takes over-the-counter Zyrtec and tries to "tough it out."
Amazingly, Bliss Floccare says her allergies worsen as she drives from Chapel Hill to Durham. "There's something about some kind of trees [in Durham], especially on Club Boulevard," that she thinks is to blame.
Floccare, who lives in Chapel Hill but used to live in Durham, said she gets a runny, stuffed-up nose this time of year.
"I've got Target Allergy Relief, but I really like more natural remedies," she said. "Sometimes a neti pot [to irrigate nasal passages] helps."
Former Texan John Clark, who now lives in Chapel Hill, said his spring allergies seem to be worse in North Carolina. His symptoms are watery eyes and coughing, which he tries to control with over-the-counter medicines.
Spring means a runny nose, sneezing and runny eyes for Teresa Sepka of Durham. She sees a doctor for her allergies, and takes the prescription medicine Singulair, which she said helps.
For Brenda Nicholson of Durham, spring produces a foggy head, fatigue and "constant post-nasal drip." Her symptoms are bad in March and April, but usually disappear by summer. "I take some stuff over the counter, but you just have to wait it out," she said. She also takes a prescription nasal steroid that helps with the congestion, but nothing completely alleviates her symptoms. "It's bad, but you can't just stay in your house," she said. "You can't have a mask on."
But for Cheryl Howlett of Chapel Hill, immunotherapy -- allergy shots -- have transformed her life. She used to suffer terribly from allergies, especially during spring, until she visited an allergist, got tested and found out what the specific triggers for her allergies. The next step was a series of allergy shots which extended over five years. The shots, which at first are given twice a week and gradually taper off, have made her nearly allergy-free.
"I was so allergic that I had to have shots in both arms, because they couldn't put it all in one," Howlett said. "And now, I'm not taking any medicine."
It's been 15 years since she completed the course of shots, and the quality of her life has improved immensely.
"It's been great for me," she said. "It made a big difference."
