It may feel like spring for a lot of us, but we're not quite out of the trenches when it comes to sniffles. Flu and cold season may be over, but allergy season is just beginning -- and this year it may be coming sooner than normal.

Meteorologists suspect the early arrival of allergy season due in part to one of the mildest winters the continent's seen in recent memory. The warmer temperatures and unseasonal highs means an earlier pollentation season for many allergy-causing plants like ragweed.

But for those allergic to mould, the lack of cumulating snowfall this winter means allergy sufferers can breathe a bit easier, says Stuart Carr, president of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

"When we have an unseasonably warm winter where we have a less persistent snow cover, there's less mould in the spring," Carr said. "So it should actually be a better early spring for certain allergy sufferers."

The warmer temperatures are also a blessing for Colleen Seto, who lives with cold urticaria -- an allergy to cold temperatures. But this isn't the kind of allergy that involves, sneezing and watery eyes, rather Steo's skin would break out into hives at the slightest touch of anything cold.

Steo, a resident of Calgary, told the Toronto Star that the rare allergy has kept her from many winter activities.

"As I got older, I could have gone (skiing or snowboarding) on my own, and I just never did because I steered away from winter activities outdoors,” said Seto.

Think your allergies are bad? Here are 15 exotic allergies to things that are certainly nothing to sneeze at:

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Chances are you know someone who is allergic to particular fruits or vegetables. Certain melons, pineapple and even bananas can cause anything from red rashes to death from a person's airway swelling shut. It's a condition known as oral allergy syndrome and is a reaction not between the fruit itself but to the trace remains of tree or weed pollen found on the fruit.

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Chances are you know someone who is allergic to particular fruits or vegetables. Certain melons, pineapple and even bananas can cause anything from red rashes to death from a person's airway swelling shut. It's a condition known as oral allergy syndrome and is a reaction not between the fruit itself but to the trace remains of tree or weed pollen found on the fruit.

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Hockey Canada Bans Peewee Bodychecking: Twitter Reacts

Desert Island Books

16 Things To Do When You're Feeling Sad

Weird Things Banned At Schools

Canada's Best Jobs 2013

The Most Awkward Social Situations

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Chances are you know someone who is allergic to particular fruits or vegetables. Certain melons, pineapple and even bananas can cause anything from red rashes to death from a person's airway swelling shut. It's a condition known as oral allergy syndrome and is a reaction not between the fruit itself but to the trace remains of tree or weed pollen found on the fruit.

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