Although many people look forward to spring, the greening of trees and the scent of lilacs and other flowers, those with allergies worry about high pollen counts.
“They are really pretty, but they take your breath away,” Arlene Sears of Taftville, Conn., said of lilacs. Sear accompanied her partner, Frederick Allen, on a recent visit to Jessica Plasse, his nurse practitioner.
Allen’s allergies trigger asthma, and he has adapted his lifestyle to try to alleviate his allergy.
“We have our windows closed and we have central air and we have taken up all the rugs and carpets,” he said.
And Allen no longer mows his own lawn — grass is another culprit in keeping him from outdoor activities.
But it doesn’t have to be so drastic, said Plasse, who works at Connecticut's Plainfield Backus Health Center. After hearing how restrictive Allen’s life was becoming, Plasse planned to adapt his medications.
Sears also suffers from allergies. Her symptoms started at Easter, when flower baskets began arriving at church.
Plasse said people with allergies often have flare-ups after Christmas, too, because of dust, when the windows are closed and people spend more time indoors.
But spring, when things begin to bloom, is by far the most irritating season for allergy sufferers, said Dr. Neri Holzer, of Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam, Conn., who works in the otolaryngology department, dealing with ear, nose and throat conditions.
The pollen culprit now are trees, which are beginning to bloom, and soon will be dusting everything with the telltale green sheen.
“Right now the trees are pollinating early, the birch and the oak,” Holzer said.
Treatment
The good news is that allergies can be managed effectively.
One important strategy in treating allergies is to discover the type of allergens the patient is reacting to. Pinpointing those, Plasse said, will guide treatment.
Some medications, such as Zyrtec, work best on animal dander, while others, such as Claritin, will work well for pollen allergies.
But whatever approach the patient and provider decide upon, the trick, Holzer said, is to begin treatment early.
The longer you wait, he warned, the less effective medication will be, because the body’s system is already affected and working in overdrive as it reacts to the allergens.
Once allergies are effectively treated, patients can use the nighttime to repair the body, instead of being in distress and losing sleep, Plasse said.
