Barnes-Jewish Allergist Says "Sneezin'' Season" Is Here
March 11, 2005, ST. LOUIS -- The calendar may say spring starts on March 20, but for many allergy sufferers in the Midwest, spring has already sprung.
According to H. James Wedner, MD, chief of allergy and immunology at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, many trees bloom early in the Midwest. That means he sees patients complaining of symptoms ahead of schedule.
"By the time the real beginning of spring is by the calendar, we''re already seeing the itchy eyes, the runny nose and the people with itchy palates," says Dr. Wedner. "That''s well under way before what''s traditionally called the beginning of spring."
That''s why Dr. Wedner recommends taking medications a couple of weeks before allergy season begins. He says there are good over-the-counter antihistamines like Claritin that don''t make you drowsy. However, watch out for brands that may put you to sleep.
"Usually if it says allergy in it, it''s got a sedating antihistaminic and particularly for children, it''s been proven over and over again, they do inhibit school performance," says Dr. Wedner. "For adults, you shouldn''t drive a car when you''re taking things that are sedating antihistaminics, because they''re going to affect your work performance."
In addition, Dr. Wedner tells allergy sufferers to stay indoors as much as possible to avoid mold and pollen in the air. He says if it''s warm outside to turn on the air conditioner, but turn the switch from "Auto" to "Fan."
"That means the fan will continually put air through the filter," says Dr. Wedner. "The filter on most units is efficient because pollen is pretty big and will filter out a lot of the pollen, but what costs a lot on the AC unit is cooling, so if you set the temperature at 75 and it''s 55 to 65 degrees outside, that cooling part will never turn on. The cost of running the fan is probably no more than the cost of a couple of 60-watt light bulbs and you''ve protected yourself by closing the windows and turning on the fan."
Many think that their runny nose is simply a cold. However, if the symptoms of itchy eyes, sneezing and runny noses continue, Dr. Wedner says you probably have seasonal allergies.
"There is no such thing as a cold that lasts all month," says Dr. Wedner. "People will come in and say, ''Well, I thought I just had a cold,'' ''Well, how long did it last?'' ''Well, from the first of March to the first of June.'' That''s not a cold that''s an allergy, and no one should walk around with a pocket full of Kleenex constantly. We can fix those sorts of things and that''s why allergists are available."
Dr. Wedner says incidents of allergies are rising at almost seven percent a year in the U.S. With that kind of number, he advises people to call their doctor if symptoms of allergies or asthma persist for a length period of time.