Community Corner

'Worst Year Yet' for Pollen Not Over

While heavy rains have eased the pain lately, there may be more pollen in store.

Save for bees and those without allergies, it's been a tough spring.

Pollen counts have been high since the weather has warmed and, while heavy rains have calmed the air somewhat of late, there may be many more airborne irritants in store for the some 35 million American who suffer from allergies.

Dr. Kenneth Backman of Allergy & Asthma Care of Fairfield County in Monroe said 2011 has already been memorably awful for allergy sufferers and asthmatics, whose condition can be worsened by pervasive pollen.

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"This year has definitely been very bad," Backman said. "When it warmed up, we had about two weeks where pollen was just off the wall. It was probably the worst I've ever seen. It was the kind of thing where medications weren't even working for people."

Backman said the tree pollen season, which left the lovely coating of yellow over most of the state between April and May, usually runs through the end of the month. He expects that to return a bit when the rainy weather clears, but said it is unlikely to be as plentiful as it was previously.

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Grass pollen, however, is another story. That season usually begins in May and extends through the summer. And while Backman said grass pollen tends not to affect allergy sufferers as severely, this could be a particularly bad year.

"In general, I'd say allergies have been on the rise over the last few years," Backman said. "There was a two-year period where it seemed like everyone was calling us and needed to be seen right away and there was nothing we could do that was helping. And this year, again, has been very, very bad."

Backman and other allergists have a range of treatments they can offer or prescribe to help sufferers. He said many over-the-counter antihistamines are good for mild cases and there are also allergy shots he can administer to desensitize people toward pollen and other allergens.

But very often the people that seek his advice need something stronger. In severe cases, Backman said he has had to prescribe the oral steroid Prednisone in short courses. Prednisone's side effects are not pleasant, but in many cases, they are outweighed by the troubles of pollen allergies, he said

"This year, we needed to use them on occasion," Backman said.

So what's an allergy sufferer or asthmatic to do?

"Environmental factors such as weather play a significant role in the health of people with allergies and asthma," said Bethel Health Department Director Laura Vasile. "It's helpful if they're aware of the air quality outside to make sure it doesn't aggravate their symptoms."

Vasile recommended Weather.com, which has effective air quality and pollen forecasting tools. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has a good page on the various kinds of pollen and preventative strategies.

Backman also touted staying indoors and keeping windows closed when pollen levels are high. He added that showering at night is a good idea because often during the day you build up pollen deposits in your hair, which can end up on your pillow and make for a tough night's sleep.

Contrary to popular belief, rain is not the cure-all for allergy sufferers. It can lead to a bad year for mold spores, another airborne irritant that can cause acute symptoms in sufferers and exacerbate asthma.

"Mold has been high lately, too," Backman said. "With all the rain we've had, I'd expect that we'll probably have a bad mold year, as well."

To differentiate between the symptoms of pollen and mold spore allergies, Backman said you can tell the former by puffy eyes and a runny nose and the latter by characteristic congestion and asthma flares. He cautioned, however, that one can display symptoms of both and encouraged anyone who is suffering severely from either to seek treatment.

And the culprit for the ever-worsening pollen seasons? Climate change, according to a scientist Backman quotes on his website:

"'The seasons are getting longer–they're starting earlier and pollens are getting released earlier," says Stanley Fineman, MD, president-elect of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "And not only is there warmer weather, there tends to be more CO2 in atmosphere. CO2, or carbon dioxide, feeds plants and leads to a greater release of pollen and sometimes that pollen is more potent and more allergenic than it was when there was less CO2 in the atmosphere."


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