Labrador Retriever -- allergies

Question
"Pudge" is approx. 2 years old - we adopted him from a "rescue facitility".  He is scratching his nose causing large sores (bleeding and oozing at times).  Around his eyes are becoming red and he licks his "balls" often (he is neutered).  Just seems to be scratching often but his ears look good.  I'm in Texas and pollen is going crazy right now!  Oh, also a dry crusty nose.  I've changed his food to allow for possible allergies so I'm thinking he is allergic to pollen, etc.  Can I give him Benedryl?  I'm unemployed right now (isn't Bush great) so it may be a while till I can get him to a vet.  Can you help me?

Thank you so much for your time!
Dana

Answer
Benadryl does not help dog allergies.  The best thing you can do is to bathe the dog frequently to remove the pollens.  If you can get some Omega3 Fatty acids from a health food store, that may help relieve the itching in about a month of daily supplementation to the food.