Ah, sweet early spring, making so many among us rejoice. But it's a hearty ahh-choo for hundreds suffering from the pollen allergies now making an unseasonably early appearance.

Perhaps the earliest pollen shedding in recent memory has sent allergy sufferers to their doctors and medicine cabinets in droves. Tree pollen is flying like the snow that has not, and air pollution is riding along with it.

It's so early, "we've had some patients who've had a problem differentiating between whether they have a cold or allergy symptoms," said Dr. David Robinson, an allergy specialist at Virginia Mason Medical Center.

Alder, the first of the tree pollens that usually cause allergy problems, started appearing in early- to mid-February, instead of its customary debut in early March.

Coupled with the pollens have been inversions that trap pollutants and set off symptoms in asthma sufferers. People sensitive to both pollens and pollutants are getting a double whammy.

"People started being troubled in mid-February [by pollens]," said Dr. Leonard Altman, of the Northwest Asthma and Allergy Center in Seattle. "Because of the weather, we're now getting air pollution trapped that doesn't happen with rainy weather."

Unfortunately for allergy sufferers, what comes around early may be around for a long visit. Once the first symptoms appear — sneezing, itching, watery eyes, headaches, fatigue — the immune system is "primed" for the rest of the season. Exposure to a very small amount of pollen — from additional trees in spring to the grasses and weeds of summer — can set them off again.

"As long as we have temperatures in the 50s, we're going to see pollen for quite a while," Robinson said.

Yesterday, the pollen count was high for alder, cedar, juniper and hazelnut, according to the laboratory at the Northwest Asthma and Allergy Center.

And that's especially bad news for people like Todd Raymond, whose immune system reacts in spades to the pollens.

"I can't smell or taste, I get so congested," said Raymond, a 33-year-old computer systems engineer who, according to tests, is nearly off the scale in reactions to alder.

For several years, Raymond had a break from his allergies. He moved from Washington, D.C., where he was allergic to other trees and grass. Then his immune cells learned to react to tree pollens in this area — what doctors call "resensitizing." Now, despite good medical care and a barrage of medications, the early season is pure misery.

"It's hard for people to understand what life is like with this," said Raymond, an Issaquah resident. "It affects your energy level and your mood.

"That's because you're constantly fighting something. ... Your body is out of whack, and you feel like you're always tired."

Warren King: 206-464-2247 or wking@seattletimes.com