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You're not ill, it's wheezin' season

Oak pollen could bring down 20 percent of Floridians in the four-week allergy season.

By LAUREN BAYNE ANDERSON
Published March 12, 2005

What causes allergic reactions Uncomfortable allergic reactions are the result of the body's immune system's genetic predisposition to react to certain allergens such as pollens and molds. Click for graphic

ST. PETERSBURG - Every spring, allergist Stephen Klemawesch's office is packed.

"The phone rings off the hook. People just walk into the office hoping they can just talk to a nurse," said the St. Petersburg doctor. "It's not normal - they don't usually just show up on your doorstep."

But it is normal in mid February through mid March, when the pollen count is at its highest for the year. During the four-week span, as many as 20 percent of Floridians suffer from allergies - runny noses, itchy eyes and even shortness of breath, said Richard Lockey, director of the allergy and immunology departments at the University of South Florida and the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa.

The culprit? Mostly oak trees, which are in the midst of pollinating.

Trees reduce greenhouse gases, produce oxygen and even can increase property values just by their presence. But when spring rolls around, for many, the tree transitions from friend to enemy.

Pollinating can begin as early as December and lasts through April, but the pollen count is highest during this time of the year, said Lockey, who takes a pollen count weekly.

People attribute allergies to things that aren't really causing them, he said, like orange blossoms or punk trees, which also bloom this time of the year.

But it's generally oak pollen and sometimes pine that make people sick.

"It's very small, very allergenic and can be blown for hundreds of miles," he said of the yellow powder. "There's just tons and tons of pollen in the air, you can see it on cars."

Florida is trouble for allergies year-round, Lockey said. In summer, the offender is grass. In the fall, weed season begins. Household allergens like dust, cats, dogs, mold and even roach debris play a factor year-round as well.

But this time of the year is the worst.

For example, the pollen from grass in summer months usually hovers at 300-400 grains per liter of air, he said. But in mid February through mid March it's common to see pollen counts upwards of 3,000.

"Florida is an ideal place for a year-round allergy season," Lockey said. "But this is probably the worst time for the most people at the same time."

And it's even worse for people with eczema or asthma because allergies irritate those conditions. For some it's so bad, they end up hospitalized with respiratory problems.

Klemawesch said allergies happen because the enzymes in pollen mistake human mucous membranes for a plant pistil.

"It lands on the moist part of a female plant, and the enzyme allows a hole to be eaten away so the pollen can be deposited," Klemawesch said. "The pollen doesn't know that you're not an oak tree, so it hits your eyes, lungs, throat, and those enzymes are released."

Klemawesch suggests over-the-counter decongestants and antihistamines like Claritin or Alavert to alleviate symptoms. For those with more serious problems, allergy injections are available.

Allergy sufferers also get a break when it rains because pollen is washed away temporarily.

But he said the only way Floridians can really escape allergy season is to pack up and leave town.

"The best thing to do is be a reverse snowbird," he said. "Go up north."

Keep an air conditioner or fan on so air cycles through a filtering system.

Exercise indoors instead of outdoors, except swimming, which is okay.

Bathe at night so you don't bring pollen into bed with you.

Leave shoes outside, so you don't track pollen inside.

Drink a lot of water to chase histamines out of your system.

Source: allergists Stephen Klemawesch and Richard Lockey.

[Last modified March 12, 2005, 00:48:09]