In Chattanooga, the local allergy sufferers such as 50-year-old Monica Burke don't need to count pollen to know about the arrival of allergy season.

Another sufferer who recently went to the doctor for nasal spray, said that her symptoms at times get so severe that she isn't even able to work.

According to Dr. Susan Raschal, a specialist certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, this year, Chattanooga has seen a slow start to the allergy season but some allergens could hang around longer than usual.

Raschal said earlier the past pollen counts used to start rising in the end of January and throughout February, but this year, pollen counts did not rise until March. She said that in such cases, the spring pollen season then starts later, and the seasons for different allergens blend.

Raschal said, "What's happening is the seasons are getting blurred because we're having pollen throughout the year, just about".

She added that generally, grasses pollinate in May, June and July, but last year the process lasted through September. She said that any pollen count over 121 is considered heavy.

Amber Boles, with the Chattanooga Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau, said that the pollen count for Monday was 1,581.

Boles added that, this year, the highest pollen count was 2,876 on April 9, where as last year, around this time the count was 4,129.

As per Dr. Lee Perry, with the Chattanooga Allergy Clinic, estimations there are around 75% of local residents who suffer from allergies and don't seek treatment beyond over-the-counter medications.

He mentioned that the problem is that the medications only mask symptoms such as sneezing, itchy eyes and runny noses, as it takes allergy shots for the treatment of the allergy.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Chattanooga is still one of the top 20 cities in the nation among the 'most challenging places to live with spring allergies'. The city has shown a drop from 6th rank among the 100 cities surveyed in 2014 to 14th this year.