What Is Your Pollen Profile?

In the densely wooded forests of northwest Harris and south Montgomery counties, hay fever season is a year-round phenomenon, although hay won't be causing most of the sniffles and fever is rarely an allergy symptom. Folks with stuffy noses may point to yellow clouds of pine pollen billowing off wind-blown boughs, but they too will be off-target in finding the source of their misery.
     During the late winter and early spring months, many allergy sufferers will see a seasonal resurgence in their symptoms. This may be caused by clouds of invisible tree pollens being released into the air as mother nature blows a new breath of life into the tree kingdom. Unfortunately what is good for growing trees may be quite irritable to those with allergies.
     “By adopting a broad strategy to eliminate or control the pollens in their environment and treat allergy symptoms before they get out of control,” said Dr. Louise Bethea, “allergy sufferers will be able to look forward to the transition from winter to spring, instead of dreading the seasonal change as a rite of passage which must be endured.”
     Dr. Bethea is a board-certified allergy/asthma/immunology physician with offices on FM 1960 and in The Woodlands. She said that the first step may be learning what, if any, pollens a person is allergic to. A technique called skin prick testing, which is no more painful than a mosquito bite, can test for allergies to a number of pollens that are prevalent this time of year, and yield a “profile” of the pollens that a particular patient is allergic to. This will then help in formulating a treatment plan.
     Testing may reveal that tree pollens are not even at fault! In the early spring months grass pollens begin to emerge, and there are other aeroallergens, such as mold spores, that are prevalent this time of year.
     “Many allergy sufferers in this Piney Woods region are quick to blame the pine tree,” Dr. Bethea asserted. Pines grow thick as grass and are known to paint the entire area with its profuse discharge of golden pollen. “Actually pine pollen is not much of an allergy threat,” she explained. “The hardwoods, junipers, and cypresses are all bigger allergy culprits, and are pumping out equal or greater volumes of invisible pollen this time of year.”
     Living in a wooded region and close to vast national forests will make it virtually impossible to avoid a particular pollen grain outdoors, as pollen can drift for miles on air currents. During the peak of allergy season, it may be best to avoid the outdoors altogether.
     That may sound like an extreme measure, but some people are so desperate to escape their allergy attacks they pack up and move to areas with drier climates, such as Arizona, without realizing they are jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Dr. Bethea, explained that since there are pollens of some kind everywhere, it is not advisable to move to another region. “Even if temporary relief is found in a new home,” warns Dr. Bethea, “it is likely new allergies will develop within a couple of years.”
     Keeping windows closed, and using air conditioning in the car and at home can limit a person's exposure to pollen. Also High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) and electrostatic filters are very effective in culling pollen from the air indoors.
     “A patient who is not willing to do their part to control their environment is wasting a lot of money on medicine and doctor's office visits,” said Dr. Bethea. “Medical treatment alone cannot eliminate allergy problems.” CS