Putting a little bit of Vaseline inside the nose can keep you from breathing in pollens.

http://www.azcentral.com/health/news/articles/0502qamollen0502.html

Allergies will grow on you, newcomers to the desert eventually discover

Connie Midey The Arizona Republic May. 2, 2006 12:00 AM

Pity the Arizona newcomers who rejoice when they think they've left their allergies behind in their former home state.

"They may be better off for the first couple of years they're here," says Phoenix osteopathic physician Art Mollen. "Then their immune system starts to change and they develop allergies to the trees and shrubs of Arizona."

Allergies are hard to escape, he says, and one out of every five people suffers from them. advertisement

Question: What causes allergies?

Answer: People think it's a matter of the immune system not functioning, but it's actually overreacting. The immune system goes into a state of hyperactivity and responds to pollens by releasing histamine, which is the chemical that causes all the symptoms.

Q: What are typical symptoms?

A: They include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, congestion, itchy roof of mouth and back of throat, itchy ears and watery, itchy eyes. One allergy symptom people often don't recognize is generalized fatigue. Because the immune system is in a hyperactive state, it causes a little bit of burnout. Over-the-counter sedating medications can contribute to that, so people should be careful not to take Benadryl-type medications during the day.

Q: Which allergens create the most problems for allergy sufferers?

A: In this area, people react most often to the pollen from ragweed, olive trees, weeds and grasses like Bermuda and Johnson. Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, is probably the most common seasonal allergy, with March through May being the height of the season. Allergic reactions that occur throughout the year may be due to dust mites, cockroaches and animal dander.

Q: How can people figure out which things trigger their allergies so they can avoid them when possible?

A: Allergy testing places drops of various pollens on your skin to determine what you're allergic to, then a serum is tailored for you and given in allergy shots. In the beginning, the shots are given about twice a week for several weeks until you develop antibodies that prevent you from having allergy symptoms.

As a former chief of allergy and immunizations at Luke Air Force Base, I can tell you that the shots work in about 50 percent of people. It's a lot of effort, but for some people, they are extremely efficacious. It can take about three months to start seeing results.

Q: Can anything be done to prevent allergies?

A: Allergies are influenced by heredity, but reactions can be minimized. The No. 1 preventive measure is to keep car and house windows closed, with the air-conditioning on as needed. These steps alone can reduce allergy symptoms by 50 percent.

Putting a little bit of Vaseline inside the nose can keep you from breathing in pollens. Also, using cases on pillows and mattresses will cut down on allergies caused by dust mites. Washing linens with a few drops of eucalyptus oil in laundry water will remove 100 percent of dust mites, as opposed to laundry detergent, which removes only about 2 1/2 percent.

Q: How are allergies treated?

A: People often turn first to over-the-counter non-drowsy products like Sudafed and Claritin, which are beneficial. The prescription drug Clarinex, which prevents the release of histamines, works pretty well. So do Zyrtec and Allegra. Some of these medications also come with pseudoephedrine, a stimulant added to counteract drowsiness. You should avoid these if you have high blood pressure or heart problems. Singulair, a newer prescription drug, inhibits the release of histamines.

Most doctors consider nasal steroids such as Flonase, Nasacort and Nasonex the treatment of choice. With one spray in each nostril once a day, they reduce inflammatory response in the nasal chamber.

If allergies don't respond to other treatments, an injection of cortisone can often ameliorate the symptoms for several months. Patients shouldn't get more than two of these a year because of potential side effects, but it does help allergies tremendously.

Q: What about alternative treatments for allergies?

A: Some supplements from health-food stores that seem to work are butterbur extract, stinging nettles and quercetin. I haven't seen scientific evidence to support the use of vitamin C or other vitamins or trace minerals to treat allergies.

Q: Anything else that's worth trying?

A: If you exercise regularly, your immune system is going to function better, without that hyperactive response to pollens when you're exposed to them. Of course, pollen counts are highest in the morning, so you want to make sure you're not exercising outside.

Get on the treadmill, instead, or a stationary bike, or take aerobic dance.

Art Mollen, D.O., is a board-certified osteopathic family physician and medical director of the Mollen Clinic in Phoenix. See him on Good Morning Arizona at 8:15 a.m. Tuesdays and Sundays on Channel 3 (KTVK). Also catch him on Feeling Good at 2 p.m. Saturdays and Mollen Health Minutes at 6:25 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays, both on KTAR-AM (620.


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