By Arnell Dimaandal
News Channel 3

The blooming flowers this spring may add a little color and beauty to the desert landscape, but its abundance is making things miserable for allergy sufferers.

Medical experts say this past winter's rains have caused more plants and flowers to bloom this season. That means there's a lot more pollen and dust in the air.

With the intense bloom in place, remedies are being brought to the forefront with allergy sufferers, which account for 20 percent of the population in the valley.

Allergy medicines like anti-histamines are pretty popular with pharmacy customers.

 "I have been spraying my allergies with saline solution and that seems to just clear everything up," long-time allergy sufferer Lillian Scherer said. "My allergies were so bad before, I could not really function. I used to sneeze about 50 times before breakfast."

Experts say seniors and those who are usually exposed outdoors are more prone to suffer from the seasonal discomfort.

Aside from over-the-counter medicines, there's also a drug-free remedy called "neti-pot" that does the trick.

"All you have to do is take these little packets of saline and administer into the nasal passages," compounding pharmacist Steve Pomerance explains.

Despite being in the thick of allergy season, experts say the discomfort should be temporary.

Most allergy sufferers usually try to treat themselves, but doctors say an allergy test is the best way to determine if you are suffering from an allergy or an infection.