By Ernst Lamothe Jr.
Allergies can be both unpredictable and inconvenient. Whether you are dealing
with seasonal issues or all year nuisances, there are various factors that
affect your sinuses. Climate change will potentially lead to both higher
pollen concentrations and longer pollen seasons, causing more people to suffer
more health effects from pollen and other allergens, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pollen is tiny seeds dispersed from flowering plants, trees, grass and weeds.
The amount and type of pollen in the air depends on the season and geographic
region. Though pollen counts are typically higher during the warmer seasons,
some plants pollinate year-round — including this time of the year.
“One of the biggest factors we are seeing when it comes to allergies is the
effect of climate change,” said Stanley Schwartz, an UBMD physician who serves
as chief of the division of allergy, immunology and rheumatology, University
at Buffalo.
“You see the severity and multitude of those suffering with
airborne allergies, especially with the summer season expanding which means
trees and plants are growing for longer periods of time with pollen in the
air. We are seeing patients have longer allergy sessions and we are seeing
kids have allergies younger along with adults having it later in life.”
Schwartz, who is also a distinguished professor of medicine and pediatrics at
the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at
Buffalo, offers five facts about allergies.
1. Myths
There are consistent myths about allergies ranging from the idea that you
can’t outgrow allergies to the lack of awareness on treatment options.
Schwartz said he has dealt with many others including common myths about pets.
“It is almost impossible to find a hypoallergenic dog or cat. It doesn’t
matter if it is a chihuahua or a great Dane, unless the animal is manufactured
in a lab, if you are allergic, then you will stay allergic unless you get some
kind of treatment,” he said.
2. Symptoms
Hay fever, also known as allergic rhinitis, occurs when allergens like pollen
enter your body and your immune system mistakenly identifies them as a threat.
If you have allergic rhinitis, your body then responds to the allergen by
releasing chemicals that can cause symptoms in the nose. Symptoms of allergic
rhinitis can occur during certain seasons or year-round, depending on the
allergen, and affect as many as 60 million people per year in the United
States.
“You are going to get the classic symptoms of sneezing, runny nose, itchy
eyes, post nasal drip and congestion,” said Schwartz. “It can be quite a
nuisance and it can negatively affect your quality of life.
3. Sinus vs cold
There are times that people confuse a sinus infection with the common cold.
There are clear differences between them.
“With a sinus infection, the mucus is thin and clear, but with a cold, the
mucus tends to be yellow and thick,” said Schwartz. “Also you don’t have a
fever when you have a sinus infection, but you can have sinus issues and
allergies all year around.”
In addition, a runny or stuffy nose, cough, tiredness, even shortness of
breath and a lack of smell and taste can occur in both allergies and COVID-19.
But a cough from COVID-19 is typically dry, whereas in allergies, a cough is
wet and usually more sneeze-like.
4. Family history
Various allergy diagnosis and treatments can lead to many different diagnoses.
Environmental allergies are diagnosed by proper history taking, examination
and allergy testing. Treatments may include medications such as non-sedating
antihistamines, steroid nasal sprays and allergy shots. Allergy experts
believe the field and symptoms are growing exponentially so they advocate for
allergy sufferers to consult a professional. Simply pointing to your family
history or self-diagnosis can lead to unnecessary trial and error. However,
family history does have a correlation.
“If one parent has allergy problems, the child has a 25% increased chance of
having the same diagnosis. If both parents have allergy problems, there is a
50% increased chance,” Schwartz explained.
5. Other allergies
Food allergies are diagnosed with proper history taking, examination and
allergy testing. Treatments include avoidance, and certain types of food
allergies may necessitate carrying an epinephrine auto injector pen and having
an allergy action plan. For patients with particular types of food allergies,
there are also newer treatments, including oral immunotherapy.
Drug allergies are diagnosed with proper history taking, examination and
allergy testing. Food allergies are a growing food safety and public health
concern that affect an estimated 8% of children in the United States,
according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. A food allergy
occurs when the body has a specific and reproducible immune response to
certain foods. The body’s immune response can be severe and life threatening,
such as anaphylaxis.
Schwartz said there have been great advances in helping kids become less
allergic to food. Experts have used oral immunotherapy, which refers to
feeding an allergic individual an increasing amount of an allergen with the
goal of increasing the threshold that triggers a reaction.
“The process of oral therapy and administering a small amount of the allergic
food under their tongue or giving a gradual dose that would not cause a
reaction has been successful. The small amount increased in a safe setting
over periods of months can slowly reverse a person’s allergy to certain
foods,” he said. “It has been remarkable the difference we have seen.”