Allergy sufferers seek relief

Learning he was allergic to virtually everything that grows in the state of Oregon didn’t mean much to Andy Hatfield of Roseburg.

After all, he was 7 or 8 years old at the time.

But now, 28-year-old Hatfield is keenly aware of what it all means.

“Every season there’s something I’m allergic to. ... This is Oregon, so something is growing all year,” he said.

He avoids working in the yard, sleeps with more than one pillow to keep his head elevated and knows the best time to venture outside is after it rains and everything’s washed away — strategies he employs to reduce the itchy eyes, coughing, sneezing and congestion so common in allergy-sufferers.

He’s also found relief in the prescription drug Zyrtec. His allergies are so bad, he said, that he even had an allergic reaction to allergy shots.

The upside of it all?

“I don’t have to mow the lawn,” he says.

He also said getting a cold isn’t a big deal.

“ ... That’s the way I breathe all the time, so it doesn’t slow me down.”


<b>ALLERGY SYMPTOMS</b>

Hatfield certainly isn’t alone. Nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population suffers from allergies, says Dr. Alice Chou, an allergy and immunology specialist at the Allergy & Asthma Center in Roseburg.

There are several ways to detect the onset of allergies, sometimes referred to as hay fever, said Dr. Carl Schreiner, an ear, nose and throat doctor in Roseburg.

The common cold typically lasts seven to 10 days, says Chou, then people feel better. If symptoms last longer than that and seem to correlate with an allergy season, it’s likely allergies.

According to an article in Coping magazine, frequent sneezing and itchy, watery eyes are more often associated with allergies than with a cold. The same article also said that a clear nasal discharge is indicative of allergies; with a cold, mucus is often more green or yellow. A fever also suggests a cold, whereas there’s no fever associated with allergies.


<b>FINDING RELIEF</b>

While not much can be done about Oregon’s abundance of trees, grasses and weeds, there are methods for managing allergies.

Schreiner recommends taking Claritin, an over-the-counter medicine, and for nasal symptoms, nasal steroids work best, he said.

Chou suggests Claritin and Benadryl for people with mild symptoms and Sudafed for congestion.

If over-the-counter medications aren’t working, she recommends prescription drugs like Allegra or Zyrtec.

A good option for eyedrops, she said, are antihistamine allergy eyedrops or prescription eyedrops like Patanol.

Schreiner said if allergy symptoms persist despite medical therapy like nasal steroid spray and an antihistamine, and if avoidance measures aren’t working, it’s time to get tested for allergies.

Reducing exposure While pollen and molds are difficult to avoid, here are some tips to help reduce exposure: • Keep windows closed and use air conditioning in the summer. A High Efficiency Particulate Air filter may help clean pollen and mold from the indoor air. • Stay indoors as much as possible. • Don’t hang clothing outside to dry. Pollen may also cling to towels and sheets. • Early morning is a good time to be inside as the outdoor air is most heavily saturated with pollen and mold between 5 and 10 a.m. • Wear a dust mask when working in the yard or mowing the lawn. Take medication beforehand. • Wash sheets each week in water that is at least 130 degrees. • A face mask decreases the amount of pollen breathed in. It doesn’t help 100 percent, but it can provide some relief. • At the end of the day, take a shower to remove pollen and put on a fresh set of clothing. — <i>Information gathered from American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Dr. Carl Schreiner and Dr. Alice Chou, both of Roseburg</i>

It’s also a good idea to get tested, he said, if one experiences allergy symptoms during one season and the symptoms progress to more than one season.

He knew it was time to get tested himself when his symptoms progressed from spring to summer and fall.

“Every year my allergy symptoms have gotten worse,” he said.

Plus, he enjoys being outside and didn’t want limited outdoor time.

He’s taken medication on and off, which helps, he said, but he decided he wanted a more long-lasting fix — hence, allergy testing.


<b>ALLERGY SHOTS</b>

Schreiner didn’t have to go far for the testing.

Cathy Driver, a registered nurse with special training in allergy testing, conducts the tests in Schreiner’s office. She performs a skin endpoint titration test to detect allergic reactions to a particular allergen, or substance that causes an allergic reaction.

“That is what we feel, at this point, is the most accurate,” Driver said.

She uses a syringe for intradermal testing by first injecting a four-millimeter wheel, or bubble, on the upper arms.

“If it grows from there, usually that’s a positive indication to me,” she said.

She injects the allergen beneath the skin and waits 15 minutes for the results.

The test measures how allergic patients are to specific allergens — 38 to be exact. Among them, she tests for allergic reactions to weeds, grasses, molds, dust mites, cats, dogs and feathers.

“This grouping of allergens is for the Northwest,” she said, adding that each region of the country has its own allergy panel.

In allergy testing, she also takes into account medical history and clinical symptoms.

After confirming which allergies are causing the symptoms, Driver makes up the patients’ vials of serum, and patients start coming in once a week for allergy shots.

“Depending on what strength of serum they tolerate, you build them up to what they call a maintenance level,” she said.

Common allergy myths • People who think they’re allergic to grass because symptoms appear when they mow the lawn may actually be allergic to molds. Typically grasses don’t pollinate much on lawns that are mowed frequently. • When spring trees are blooming, the big pollens aren’t actual allergens. It’s the other allergens floating around that aren’t visible that are causing allergy symptoms. • A common misconception is that allergy shots have to be taken for life. Most can stop taking the shots in three to five years and still have relief of symptoms. • Patients are frequently concerned about using nasal steroid sprays because they think they may get addicted. It’s actually the over-the-counter nasal decongestants that produce a rebound effect if used too long. <i>Source: Dr. Carl Schreiner, an ear, nose and throat doctor in Roseburg</i>

As a general rule, this usually takes about a year.

When patients come in for weekly injections during the build-up phase, they wait in the office for 20 minutes after receiving the shots.

“The first 20 minutes after an injection is the most common time for a reaction to occur, so we want to monitor them,” she said.

After about the first year, patients start to come in about every other week.

The goal, she said, is to lessen patients’ symptoms or make them symptom-free.

In the beginning, patients receive both shots and medicine since the shots aren’t effective immediately, said Chou, whose office also administers allergy shots.

The shots typically last three to five years, she said, with the success rate depending on the patient.

“Some people after five years, symptoms actually disappear and they can function during allergy season,” Chou said. “As each year goes, it gets better and better and you rely less on the medication.”

There can be as much as an 80 to 90 percent improvement from the shots, she said.

While there’s no cure for allergies, she said, the best treatment is medicine, and if that fails, the next best thing is allergy shots.



• Reporter Jennifer Mathis can be reached at 957-4208 or via e-mail at jmathis@newsreview.info.