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Pollen's A-Poppin' This Year

By RONI RABIN, STAFF WRITER

Tricia Dorka can't wait for summer. She's allergic to spring.

An itchy throat, congestion, red eyes and pressure headaches pounding her eyes and face sent Dorka inside Saturday -- away from the yardwork she loves -- with the air purifier on and windows sealed shut.
"I'm allergic to the trees, the grass, the whole season," said Dorka, 37, a lab technician and mother of two from Levittown who has developed asthma as a result of her allergies.

Mid-May is peak pollen season, but this year it's worse, with pollen counts skyrocketing and, doctors say, a misery index that's off the charts.

"People are suffering terribly" said Dr. Brian Novick, an East Meadow allergist. "We have some patients we haven't seen in a couple years -- and a lot of patients who have never been treated by an allergist before."

Pollen counts measured at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn last week were in the 300s Monday and Tuesday, dipping slightly Wednesday and rearing up around the 500 range Thursday and Friday.

People with allergies start to experience symptoms at a range of 20-100, experts said, a measure that reflects the number of grains of pollen per cubic meter of air.

Last year the average count for the second week of May was 60, experts said, noting however that pollen counts spike and fall, dropping precipitously after rain. Monday the count was 179.

"The phone is ringing off the hook," said Dr. Clifford Bassett of Long Island College Hospital, who has offices in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights. "It's not just in the Northeast -- it's the entire country."

Most experts say pollen seasons have been particularly bad for the last four or five years, due to heavy winter precipitation followed by relatively mild or dry springs, but Bassett says global warming causes plants to release more pollen.

Hay fever, or seasonal allergic rhinitis, affects about 40 million to 50 million Americans and is the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the United States, according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.

It's caused by a reaction to pollen, the tiny egg-shaped male cells of flowering plants that are required for plant fertilization. During mid-May, the height of the tree pollen season overlaps with the beginning of grass pollen season, making sensitive people particularly miserable. Weed pollination occurs from late summer through early fall.

Allergies can trigger asthma and lead to other health problems, such as sinusitis and, in children, ear infections.

Doctors encourage patients with symptoms to come in for an evaluation, preferably with an allergy specialist. Early treatment is more effective, but avoidance of the outdoors is also helpful for some.

Many patients may require a combination of treatments, including nasal spray, eyedrops, an inhaler if they have asthma, an antihistamine, a decongestant and anti-inflammatory medications, said Dr. Luz Fonacier, head of the allergy section of Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola.

Immunotherapy, a lengthy treatment involving weekly injections for several months, is recommended for a subgroup of patients with very severe allergies and can provide relief even while treatment is continuing, some sufferers say.

"We don't do it for everyone," Fonacier said. "But there's a group of patients who respond poorly to over-the-counter medications and are unwilling to take medications ... or develop side effects." Severe reactions to immunotherapy are rare, but require immediate medical attention.

Kristin Hutt, a 37-year-old mother of two from Wantagh, started getting twice-weekly shots from Novick in early April and already feels a difference, she said. "I'm outside all the time with the kids now," she said.

But Dorka's policy is just to wait out spring. Summer, she said, is just around the corner.

"I have prescriptions, but I try not to use them; I'm just not a pill person," she said.

But, she said wistfully, "I would like to open the windows."

This article has been syndicated from: http://www.newsday.com/
Author: RONI RABIN, STAFF WRITER

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