Rain last week brought relief to allergy sufferers, but don’t pack away the Kleenex and Benadryl yet.

Heavy rain Wednesday knocked pollen from the air and the pollen count dropped from very high to high, said Dr. Timothy Kerut, a Vicksburg allergist.

Sighs of relief might soon turn into sneezes of agony.

“When it rains, the pollen count is going to come down temporarily, but it’s gong to make things grow again,” Kerut said.

Trees causing the most reactions right now are oak, elm, birch, pecan and sweet gum. Trees like pine, which produce large visible pollen that clumps on cars and the ground, are a boon for the car wash business but are not a major cause of allergies, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

After the trees pollinate again, causing a second round of itchy eyes and runny noses, it will be time for pollen from Bermuda, Johnson, rye and Bahia grasses to fill the air around mid-April, Kerut said.

“The grass pollen isn’t even really on the radar yet, so there’s more misery to come,” Kerut said.

In the South, spring is the worst allergy season, Kerut said. Jackson was recently named the No. 4 worst city for allergies by the Weather Channel, but the same conditions apply to Vicksburg, Kerut said.

Irritation caused by allergies are just an inconvenience for some but can cause major health problems for people suffering from asthma and other breathing problems, said Vicksburg pulmonologist Dr. David Halinski.

“Our biggest season for people with respiratory diseases seems to be late winter and early spring,” he said. “In the summer season it drops off quite a bit.”

For people with respiratory disorders, allergy season can cause increased breathing trouble and a risk of pneumonia, Halinski said.

“If you have that inflammation and congestion, bacteria can move in on that and cause a secondary infection,” Halinski said.

Those suffering from disorders such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease need to monitor how often they are using their rescue inhalers during allergy season, Halinski said. Using an inhaler more than two or three times per week or more than once per month at night is a sign that the disorder is not under control and long-term medications need adjustment, he said.

“People obviously are doing much more self-medicating for asthma than we would like,” he said. “We really have a problem with convincing people of that.”

There’s no way to avoid pollen in the spring, he said, but there are ways to reduce allergy symptoms. Halinski recommended changing clothes and showering after spending time outside and using a nasal wash to clear standing pollen before it can enter the body.

“You can’t escape it. It’s going to be there,” Halinski said. “When the dust is everywhere that you’re touching there’s no real way to get away from it.”

Reducing indoor allergens such as dustmites and mold also can help prevent flare-ups of respiratory disorders that are aggravated by pollen, Halinski said.

“The majority of baseline asthma is caused by indoor things,” he said.

For those without lung ailments, most pollen allergies can be alleviated by taking an over-the-counter antihistamine, Kerut said.

“They don’t work for everybody, but they work on a lot of people,” Kerut said.

Others might need an allergy test to determine what stimulates their allergies and might require prescription medication, he said.

If allergies become so severe that they cause wheezing or shortness of breath during everyday activities, it’s time to seek help, Kerut said.

“If you’re missing work or school, it’s time to see somebody,” he said.