Published: July 29, 2007 10:50 pm         

Late summer is no picnic for hay fever sufferers

For most people, late summer can be a time for picnics, camping, swimming and other outdoor fun.

But for allergy sufferers, it is the return of hay fever season.

Ragweed and other late-season weeds soon will begin spewing pollen, causing sniffles, sneezes, watery eyes and worse.

Help is available, Dr. David Armstrong said.

Improved medicine relieves symptoms without drowsiness, and more people are finding long-term relief through injections.

“We don’t cure allergies,” Armstrong said. “We just improve the way you feel.”

Armstrong has been treating allergy patients since 1988. He and his partners in Ear, Nose and Throat Associates have offices in Johnstown, Windber and Somerset.

Hay fever is a misnomer, he said. The medical term is allergic rhinitis, which describes how the body reacts to pollen, mold or other airborne allergens.

“Your immune system sees them as foreign bodies and sends antibodies to fight them,” Armstrong said.

Over-the-counter allergy pills have been available for many years. Most relieve symptoms, but can cause drowsiness.

A second generation of antihistamines introduced a decade ago relieves symptoms without drowsiness. These pills require a doctor’s prescription.

Injections can give more long-lasting relief, but the serum must be selected to target a specific group of pollens or other allergens, Armstrong said.

“(Oral) Medicine doesn’t have any memory,” Armstrong said.

“When it wears off, it’s done. With shots, the body remembers to keep making antibodies, so relief is longer lasting.”

Only about 25 percent of allergy sufferers get skin tests to learn what’s causing their reaction. About half of those tested start getting shots, Armstrong estimated.

Shots work best for hay fever and severe insect sting allergies, but not so well for food allergies, the National Institutes of Health reports. It takes several injections and trips to the doctor to build up protection.

Many people find relief by avoiding the irritants. Keeping track of pollen counts can help.

Most weather information Web sites include pollen counts, and pollen.com can be localized for any region.

Grass pollens are the main culprit now, but ragweed and other late-summer pollens soon will bring the second major wave of allergy symptoms. This hay fever season can be as severe as the spring tree-pollen season, but patients don’t dread it as much because they have been dealing with some symptoms all summer.

“In spring, it’s more prevalent in people’s minds,” Armstrong said, explaining that winter weather kills plants and molds that create allergens.

Not everyone with allergies reacts to all pollens and molds.

In fact, the triggering substances can change over a patient’s life, Armstrong said.

There are three periods when allergies most often appear for the first time: Adolescence, during the 30s, or in the late 50s and 60s.

Armstrong theorizes that lifetime exposure builds up in patients who develop allergies later.

“It’s a disease process, so to speak, that is in flux,” Armstrong said. “You are always allergic, but to different things over time.”

     

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