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Feeling under the weather? It could be local seasonal allergies

The fall season is here, and with it comes an uptick in allergies.

Action News Jax reporter Courtney Cole explains what's causing all the recent sniffling and sneezing and when you can expect it to die down.

"It kind of catches you off guard. You get the congestion, the sinus pressure, the runny nose, the sneezing. And you assume it's a virus,” said Dr. Sunil Joshi, a family allergy and asthma consultant.

Dr. Joshi said if it goes on for weeks and weeks at a time, allergies are most likely the culprit.

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Thirty percent of adults in the U.S. suffer from them, according to WebMD.com.

"Even though it is much warmer than typical for us in late September, the fall pollen is out,” said Dr. Joshi.

Kimberly Bettis said she knows about allergies first hand, as she is allergic to almost everything outside, including trees, weeds, pollen and dust.

"I'm constantly going…(coughs), clearing my throat. I have a lot of nasal issues and stuff like that,” said Bettis.

While your list of allergies may not run long, if you're allergic to ragweed, Dr. Joshi said this time of year will be tough.

Ragweed tends to grow where there is a lot of vegetation, so keeping your grass cut can help. But it's the pollen released from the plant that wreaks havoc on allergy sufferers.

"You can't see the pollen, so you don't really know it's out, and you just start suffering,” Dr. Joshi said.

The doctor said ragweed sticks around until our first freeze of the year.

Action News Jax First Alert Chief Meteorologist Mike Buresh said that isn’t expected to happen until  the first week of December.

"We worry about mold, too. We typically get a lot of rain in the late summer and the sun is not nearly as strong as it was two or three months ago, so mold tends to become more of an issue,” Dr. Joshi said.

Storms can make the outdoor mold worst, so he says a calm hurricane season could help all of us breathe a little easier.