Many NBC 5 viewers e-mailed asking what’s wrong with chief meteorologist David Finfrock over the last few months, so he decided to answer.

For the last few months, Finfrock has battled bouts of coughing and wheezing on the air. Viewers have e-mailed asking about his persistent cough and if he has emphysema, pneumonia or heart failure. One viewer even wondered if he is terminally ill.

"What I've got, it's kind of like the perfect storm that hit all at once," Finfrock said.

Finfrock has been on the air at NBC 5 for 31 years, but he had never battled a condition like the one he has recently.

"When I look at myself on the air, it is aggravating watching that cough night after night," he said.

Finfrock has tried three antibiotics, antihistamines, nasal sprays with cortisone and inhalers. He has visited three doctors in search of a remedy.

"I first went to my primary care physician and after that I went to a pulmonary specialist to check on the lungs and make sure that everything was clear there,” he said. “They suggested that I go to an allergy specialist."

Fort Worth Allergy & Asthma’s Doctor Susan Bailey prescribed immunotherapy for Finfrock. He receives a series of shots specifically for his allergies.

"David is allergic to mountain cedar,” Bailey said. “It’s a very bad allergen in this part of the country and then he got a sinus infection on top of it, and the cough and the hoarseness related to that is what's been making him so miserable."

Finfrock said his condition is mostly just a nuisance that is aggravated by talking.

"I tell people who write in about my health that I feel great,” he said. “As long as I keep my mouth shut, you'd never know anything was wrong, but unfortunately in this job you can't keep your mouth shut."

Viewers have e-mailed suggesting home remedies like sucking on a lemon, hot tamales candy and peppermints. Finfrock insisted that he will be back to normal soon.

For More Information:

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Article On Mountain Cedar

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

People Against Cedars

Texas Monthly Article On Cedars

Finfrock's Allergy Specialist:
Susan Bailey M.D. - Ft Worth Allergy & Asthma
5929 Lovell Ave
Fort Worth
817-315-2550