It's a beautiful day in Central Georgia with signs of spring blooming including the pollen, but when the rain comes, does the washing away of some of the yellow dust help those with allergies?
We set out to verify -- is the rain good for people with allergies? Dr. Jeremiah N. Bivins with the Asthma, Allergy and Sinus Center in Macon verified if this was true or false.
Walking outside, the weather is beautiful, but Lourds Rodriguez, who deals with seasonal allergies, is already feeling the effects," like itches inside of my nose and sometimes in my throat," Rodriguez said.
Evan Hjort, a sophomore at Mercer, first dealt with allergies when he moved to Macon from Washington State.
"Sometimes, I will wake up feeling a little achy, and I feel like there is so much in my head," Hjort said.
Rodriguez says her daily exercising helps her cope with the pollen, but believes the rain helps also.
"No, it's better because when all the rain is coming, all the pollen is gone", Rodriguez said.
So is the rain good for people with allergies? Bivins said the rain does help but only in some cases.
"What it does help, it helps a certain subgroup of patients, these patients that are very allergic to tree pollen -- in a sense, we can use the term 'wash' to pull the pollen out their air, that are floating around," Bivins said.
That's the same information we got from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. According to their website, "Rain is good if you have pollen allergies."
So we Verified -- it can help some allergy sufferers, but only temporarily. A few days after the rain stops, the water actually can cause problems for people with other allergies.
"It can actually create a bump in weeds, grasses, and especially mold several days after rain," Bivins said.
Bivins also said that over-the-counter medication and nasal sprays can help prevent allergies.