Allergy experts in the Chicago area have noted an "unusual" pollen count that could be behind an intense fall allergy season for many sufferers.

What is it? Ragweed.

According to Rachna Shah, the allergist and immunologist who heads Loyola Medicine's pollen count in Chicago, this year's ragweed season has started earlier than normal.

"The ragweed season is generally mid-August until the end of September," she told NBC Chicago. "This year, we started ragweed season a little early, so in early August it started and we've had unusually high counts for the past two to three weeks really."

In fact, the levels are higher than Shah has seen in years.

"So, generally speaking in one season for ragweed, I might see five or six high ragweed days. This has been very, very consistent over the past

See Full Page