DES MOINES, Iowa – If you’ve been sneezing more than usual lately, you’re not alone, allergy season is in full swing, and hitting Iowans hard.

The extended warm weather, coupled with harvest season, is only extending allergy season, as farmers harvesting is kicking up dust, mold spores, and pollen into the air. That, combined with the dry air, creates the perfect storm for allergy sufferers.

“The number one thing we’re seeing right now is ragweed specifically. That’s the highest thing that we’ve been testing for in our office. I’m sure there’s other allergens, but that’s been the biggest one,” said Dr. Amy Vowels, Holistic Functional Medicine at Optimum Wellness Solutions.

Dr. Vowles says patients symptoms are so severe, they’re mistaking their symptoms with other illnesses.

“Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve noticed a huge uptick in the number of patients coming in for seasonal allergy help. A lot of these patients have such severe symptoms that they, we think they’re coming in for something like a cold or influenza or even COVID, but it turns out to be allergies.”

Dr. Vowles also says they’re seeing an uptick in allergies progressing into more serious illnesses.

“I would say the vast majority of the people we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks who think they have some kind of illness actually have allergies instead… We’ve seen a lot of people that are initially coming in with things like sinus congestion, runny noses, but also deep chest congestion. A lot of cases, that have turned into bronchitis that initially began as seasonal allergies.”

Dr. Vowles specializes in holistic medicine, and says there are other ways to treat allergies than just over the counter medicine, saying while every patient varies, lymphatic drainage therapy, and even chiropractic care could help relieve allergy symptoms.