Been sniffling & sneezing for weeks. Yesterday the landscapers came and did the 'spring cleanup.'

[Gidney N Cloyd]

Got all the leaves and crap out of the nooks and crannies of the yard.

Today suddenly I feel great. Just a coincidence or have I maybe been suffering from the lack of serious winter weather around Chicago never quite killing all the allergens or something?

I've never been a big hay feever sufferer so I really don't know what all might affect this.

[Wait Wut]

1. I'm from there.

Lived in Chicago for almost 40 years and never had allergies. Move to Arizona and I spend 6 months of the year sneezing.

Are you allergic to mold? My brother used to have a helluva problem with it this time of year.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. I'm not aware of being allergic to mold. Never had this sniffly problem before.

But I also can't remember a winter this mild before. Maybe there's a "mold plateau" I exceeded this year and getting the muck raked away dropped the count back to a tolerable level.

[Wait Wut]

4. That's what I was thinkin'.

Because the weather has been so mild, it may have upped the mold count dramatically. Even people with "hidden" mold allergies could be feeling it.

[MerryBlooms]

2. I think that's part- maybe the other was the mold from decaying leaves and such?

I'm also in the Chicago area and I have always had major allergies, but this year has been brutal. My cats, Christmas trees, mold, pollen, detergents, food preservatives- you name it. I've been popping major amounts of decongestant and antihistamines all winter and now we get the early spring. The itchy watery eyes, never ending runny nose that won't blow and a voice that comes and goes.