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FAMILY HEALTH
Blowin’ in
The Wind
Airborne allergies are on the rise.
BY MICHELE MEYER
f you want to experience a lesser-
1
known effect of global warming, you
need only follow your nose. More
than
36
million Americans—
twice as
many as 20 years ago—suffer from
the runny noses and watery, itchy eyes of
seasonal allergies, reports the American
Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
The higher temperatures of a warmer earth
cause many of the most troublesome plants—
trees, grasses, molds, ragweed—to release
more spores and pollen into the air.
CHECK THE CLOCK Pollen counts are
highest from 6-10 a.m., and second highest
from
4-7
p.m., so avoid outdoor activities
then. Forget the myth that rain will wash away
allergens, says Dr. Marjorie L. Slankard,
clinical medicine professor at Columbia
University College of Physicians & Surgeons
Pollen C ounts
to spend the
day in bed with the covers over your head? Learn what
allergens are peaking in your area at
weather.com, pollen.com,
or
aaaai.org
(click on the Pollen Counts link). If the allergen
that affects you is high, head symptoms off at the pass and
start your treatments and medications early.
in New York. “Splattering rain can shoot
pollen into the air,” she says. If you’re a
gardener, wear a filtering mask when
working the earth between 10 a.m. and
2
p.m. Unlike pollen, that’s when mold
spores are highest.
CLEAN THE AIR If you have a forced air
heating and cooling system in your house,
install a high performance air filter with a
microparticle rating of1200 or higher, which
will trap up to
90
percent of pollen and
spores. Leave your system’s fan running
24/7
during peak allergy season. Check the
filter every two weeks, because it can plug
up quickly when you’re running air through
it constantly.
HIT THE SHOWER Pollen and other
allergens collect on your skin and especially
in your hair, says Dr. H. James Wedner, chief
of allergy and immunology at Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
When you go to sleep, you transfer them to
your pillow and bedclothes, putting them in
direct contact with your eyes and nose. T ake
a quick shower before bed to clean them off.
WASH YOUR NOSE A powerful
treatment for allergies is nasal irrigation.
Often called neti pots, nasal irrigators look
like small teapots that you fill with a
prepackaged powder and warm water.
Twice daily, tilt your head over the sink and
gently funnel the solution through one
nostril, then the other. It feels a bit odd at
first, but it works wonders, Wedner says.
LOG ON FOR RELIEF The American
College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology’s
new Web site—
allergyandasthmarelief.org—has
an easy test that measures how severe your
allergies are and suggests a plan to help you
feel better. Click on the Relief Self-Test to try it.
A BETTER
DECONGESTANT
When allergies have your
nose stuffed, you reach
for a fast-acting
decongestant right off
the shelf. But recent
research suggests it’s
worth the extra few
minutes to ask your
pharmacist for the “good
stuff” that’s stored
behind the counter.
That’s because what you
get on shelves are pills
with an active ingredient
called phenylephrine. It
replaced pseudoephedrine
a couple of years ago as
the over-the-counter
decongestant of choice
because pseudoephedrine
can be used in the street
drug methamphetamine.
But Leslie Hendeles, a
University of Florida
clinical pharmacist, and
her colleagues recently
analyzed all the evidence
on phenylephrine and
found that it is only io
percent more effective
than a placebo. “If you’ve
got a stuffy nose and you
can’t function, a io
percent improvement is
not enough,” Hendeles
says. “Pseudoephedrine
is clearly more effective.”
You’ll have to show ID to
the pharmacist and sign a
registry. But for allergy
relief, the added hassle is
worth it.
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