Renee Hodge got shots in both arms last week and it is helping her to breathe better -- now and especially into the future.

Though her allergy problems with dogs, cats and mold run year-round, "It seems to be worse in the spring," Mrs. Hodge said as she sat in an exam room at Augusta Family Allergy and Immunology.

Allergy physicians say those who suffer from spring allergies, particularly from grasses, should start preparing now for their annual torments.

Vanitcha Pintavorn at Augusta Family Allergy said her office tries to bring patients in before the season really gets rolling.

"That's helpful to try to go over the medicines and how to prevent them from having a bad exacerbation," she said.

With Mrs. Hodge, Dr. Pintavorn listened to her lungs and used a peak flow meter to assess how well she was breathing.

"I think in general you're doing really good," Dr. Pintavorn said. "The shots are working well, too."

"It's definitely better than when I first started," Mrs. Hodge said.

Taking an antihistamine early and regularly can help prevent symptoms from flaring up later in the season, said Dennis Ownby, the chief of the allergy and immunology section at Medical College of Georgia.

One prescription drug, Zyrtec, just became an over-the-counter medication, joining Claritin, he said.

"The distinction is I think the Zyrtec is going to be a little bit more effective, but it also has more potential to cause some drowsiness," Dr. Ownby said, which might mean that patients will want to take it at night.

How bad this season will get is anyone's guess, but there might be some reason to think it is getting worse, Dr. Ownby said. Ragweed, a major source of irritating pollen, seems to produce more pollen with higher levels of carbon dioxide, he said.

"So one of the concerns is that if you believe in global warming and increasing carbon dioxide levels, then we are likely to continue to see more pollen in the air each year," Dr. Ownby said.