We have a physician who has been doing pollen counts since 2002 … We found that over time, he was seeing the same kind of pattern where [the seasons for] tree pollen — as well as some mold and wheat pollen — were extending much more than other allergens.
Not only is [wind] distributing the pollen, the allergies themselves have become more allergenic, so they’re almost stronger than they used to be in the past. If you think of some areas that are in the valley — notably Sacramento and Fresno that are very impacted by allergies, because of their topographical nature — the allergen almost can’t leave. So the winds kind of keep it in there, and they can’t disperse.
Is it allergies, or am I sick?
Dr. Garcia-Lloret: Cold season usually starts in September and peters out by March, and then … the pollen season overlaps somewhat.
Allergies can cause body aches, but are usually more associated during flu season with the flu. And then sometimes, [your cold-like symptoms are actually] the therapeutic effect of allergy medicine. A cold is not going to respond to the standard antihistamine.
It’s also important for people to know that allergies make you more predisposed [to a cold] or make your cold last longer. It’s one of the questions I usually have to ask my allergic patients: “Do you cling to your cold?” Because the allergic inflammation that many times we have year-round makes us more vulnerable to respiratory infections.
So, is this a cold or is this an allergy? Many times it’s going to be both.
What’s the science behind my allergies?
Dr. Sindher: Generally, when we’re allergic to something, it essentially means our body has formed these preformed allergen-specific IgE antibodies.
We’ll use grass as an example: That means your body has already created grass-specific IgE antibodies. And so when you come into exposure to the grass pollen, it attaches to those antibodies which are connected to these allergy cells called mast cells, and these contain your histamine, tryptase, all the preformed and mediators that get created that lead to an inflammatory response.
So once your mast cells or basophils get activated, and it releases all these mediators, they contribute to that inflammatory allergic response.
It’s not just the immediate response: they also recruit more allergy cells to have a much later-stage or longer-lasting course of symptoms.
Who is most at risk from allergies?
Dr. Garcia-Lloret: Allergy is a disease of the young. You start showing your propensity to develop allergies at a very young age, although the pattern changes.
Early on, your skin allergies are a bit more manifest. You partially outgrow that, and the food allergy comes along.
And then, when you think you’re getting rid of your food allergy, the respiratory allergy catches you.
Dr. Sindher: What I tell my patients is: “Even though we’re focusing on the allergy, it is the whole person.” So if you are sleep deprived, if you have a lot of stress, if you’re not eating well, if there’s a lot going on, all symptoms can be much worse than if you take care of yourself.
You need to take care of your body and you in all other arenas, so that as we are treating your food allergy, the symptoms are better managed. There is something to be said for treating the person as a whole, and not just focusing on allergy by itself, but all the other elements that might be that might be stressing out the immune system.
What allergy medicines actually work?
Dr. Sindher: One is just mitigation and reducing your exposure: sitting indoors when possible, limiting activities that might trigger your symptoms. So, for instance, if you’re very grass allergic, maybe don’t mow the lawn yourself in the midst of grass allergy season.
