Few options for those who suffer seasonal allergies
The scene is postcard perfect. Cows and horses graze peacefully
under blooming trees filled with merrily chirping birds, as a
slight breeze ruffles the surrounding grasses and wildflowers.
Few options for those who suffer seasonal allergies
The scene is postcard perfect. Cows and horses graze peacefully under blooming trees filled with merrily chirping birds, as a slight breeze ruffles the surrounding grasses and wildflowers.
It has all the makings of a perfect afternoon in San Benito County – until the sneezing begins.
As an unusually early warm spring fades into what promises to be an even warmer summer, local residents are battling a number of allergies caused by the very things that make this rural area such a desirable place to live. Hot winds are spreading an abundance of pollen from trees, weeds and grasses, making the lives of many people miserable.
“Right now my eyes are so swollen and itchy, I can barely function – I just want to go to sleep,” said Debbie Thul, a secretary and instructional aide at Tres Pinos School. “And then when you get that pressure in your head, you can’t even think.”
More than 60 different types of weeds, grasses and trees are pollen-producing, and therefore allergy-inducing, in San Benito County. Weeds are the most prolific producers, including the sagebrush and wormwood that are both found locally.
Grasses and trees are also sources of allergenic pollens – but while more than 1,000 species of grass grow in North America, only a few of them produce highly allergenic pollen. Locally, grasses such as blue grass and barley are considered mild to moderate irritants. Similarly, the trees found in San Benito County are also considered to be moderate pollen producers.
That distinction, however, is often lost on the allergy sufferers who have to deal with the pollen’s effects.
“It is difficult to treat allergies caused by pollen because you can’t get away from it,” said Robert Torrano, an allergy and immunology specialist with Allergy and Asthma Associates.
Torrano sees a number of patients from San Benito County in his Gilroy office, he said.
“It has been pretty bad this year, because there was not a lot of rain this winter,” Torrano said. “Hopefully, it will get better soon.”
Blowing in the wind
What causes pollen allergies is simple – plants produce microscopic pollen grains to reproduce. Some species use the pollen from its own flowers to fertilize themselves; others cross-pollinate, meaning that pollen is transferred from one plant to another by insects or wind prior to fertilization. The types of pollen that commonly cause allergy symptoms are produced by plants without big flowers – trees, grasses and weeds – that create small, light dry pollen granules just waiting to be picked up by the slightest breeze.
Because pollen can drift miles from its original source, it does little to remove plants from your home or garden.
Instead, Torrano suggests simply shutting up homes, cars and offices during peak allergy season and shower in the evening to remove pollen from the skin and hair.
“I’ll talk to patients who didn’t have any symptoms all year, and now are suffering,” he said. “What they’ll do is close their windows to avoid afternoon breezes.”
Typical allergic symptoms caused by pollen include the following: sneezing; runny nose; nasal congestion or hay fever; itchy, watery or red eyes. Inhaling airborne pollens can cause reduced lung capacity, difficulty breathing and asthma-related problems. Even touching a pollen-producing plant can leave a rash or hives on highly sensitive people.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for pollen-induced allergies, other than to avoid the pollen itself. There are dozens of over-the-counter drugs that can treat allergy symptoms, such as Claritin-D or Sudafed, Torrano said, and in the more severe cases, prescribed medications.
“There are two basic flavors, so to speak – medicines that treat the symptoms and those that treat the actual inflammation,” he said. “If you have a headache, for example, and take some Tylenol, that’s treating the symptom. If you have a boss that is yelling at you all the time and causing the headache and you quit, that’s treating the inflammation. Those are the courses we can follow with allergies.”
The most common treatment, Torrano said, are antihistamine drugs, which stop the body from releasing the histamine, or protein, which helps the allergic reaction form. Available over-the-counter antihistamines include Benadryl, Alavert or Zicam. Those with more severe symptoms are often given prescriptions for steroid-based medicines that are designed to deal with inflammation in the lungs, nose and sinuses.
For some, modern medicine often takes a back seat to home remedies. These methods vary, from taking 16 grams of Vitamin C orally over a 24 hour period to aromatherapy (lavender and chamomile oils are said to help calm asthma attacks).
Leave it to the bees
Others, such as Leon Bray, say bees may provide the relief allergy sufferers are looking for.
Bray, a Hollister resident who has kept bees as a hobby for 40 years, says both bee pollen and raw honey may work to ease certain allergy symptoms. Several years ago, a co-worker of Bray’s used bee pollen provided by Bray to ease his symptoms.
“I made some pollen traps and brought it into him,” he said. “He swore by it.”
Bray also said the pollen bees carry naturally finds its way into honey, creating another way to get bee pollen into the diet.
“Bees bring in pollen to feed their brood,” he said. “They feed them the nectar which mixes with the pollen. The pollen then transfers when they move from there into the honey chamber. As the bees go up and down they bring the pollen with them.”
The pollen in the raw honey can help a person build up immunity to the pollen, said Bray, who suggests taking a teaspoon of raw honey every day.
“Some people swear by it, but I believe that while it will work for some people, maybe it won’t for others,” he said.
Bray said he believes the honey eases symptoms from pollen that was in the air at the time the bees made the honey – pollen released later won’t find its way into the honey until the next batch – and that only raw honey provides the benefits allergy sufferers seek.
“Honey is naturally thick. Processors heat their honey to make it pretty, and the heat kills off the pollen,” Bray said. “Raw honey is hard to come by.”
Torrano, however, says most home remedies simply soothe the patient who believes in them, rather than providing actual relief.
“It’s basically about comfort,” Torrano said. “Most, like using Vicks, really don’t do anything. One of the best home remedies, frankly, are saline rinses for the nose. What really doesn’t work are humidifiers. They might even do more harm than good, because using one too much can cause mold to grow.”
For those with severe allergies, however, neither nature nor science has yet to come up with the perfect treatment. Thul, a lifelong allergy sufferer, said she has yet to find anything to ease her symptoms.
“I’ve had allergy shots. I’ve tried every single new medication that comes out. I’ve tried honey and saline rinses,” she said. “I’ve even had cortisone shots in my nose – that was really fun. It’s just something I’ve had my whole life. The doctors said I’d outgrow it. I just never did.”
