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PITTSBURG —
Allergy sufferers are feeling the sting of pollen and mold spores early this year thanks to spring conditions that rolled in more than a month ahead of schedule.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, climate change will affect air quality in several ways, including production of allergens such as pollen and mold spores, and increases in concentrations of ozone, fine particles, and dust. Additionally, earlier flower blooming resulting from temperature increases and increased carbon dioxide concentrations will affect the timing of distribution of allergens such as pollen. Those allergens also could become more potent as temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations increase, the CDC says.
An allergy is a heightened sensitivity to a foreign substance — called an allergen — that causes the body’s immune system to overreact, according to experts at www.pollen.com. Normally, the immune system would only react if a harmful substance, such as bacteria, attacks the body, but people with allergies have hyperactive immune systems that react even when relatively harmless substances, such as pollen, are present. The severity of an allergic reaction can vary from mild discomfort to life-threatening situations.
Common allergic reactions, according to the website, include eczema, hives, hay fever, asthma, food allergies, pet dander allergies, as well as reactions to the venom of stinging insects such as wasps and bees. Treatments for allergies include avoidance, use of anti-histamines, steroids or other medications, and immunotherapy to desensitize the allergic response.
Weather plays an important part for many allergy and hay fever sufferers, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pittsburg’s pollen level is “high.”
Symptoms can include sneezing, wheezing, nasal congestion, coughing, itchy watery eyes, runny nose, itchy throat, stomach ache, and itchy skin, hives, fatigue, and irritability. The most common method doctors use to identify specific allergies is a skin test; by scratching the skin or making an injection just beneath the surface, the doctor observes your body's reaction to various allergens.
The skin test doesn’t classify all allergies but covers major categories, such as common respiratory allergies and allergic reactions to penicillin, food, and insect stings.
You may also want to consult with your doctor if you:
• Tend to have cold-like symptoms around the same time every year. This could be a sign of seasonal allergies.
• Sneeze and your eyes itch when you are around a house pet or when you are around people who may have house pets at home.
• Have sudden sneezing or upper respiratory congestion when you enter a particular environment such as your place of work or your basement. Note that symptoms may continue even after you leave the environment.
Allergy sufferers are feeling the sting of pollen and mold spores early this year thanks to spring conditions that rolled in more than a month ahead of schedule.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, climate change will affect air quality in several ways, including production of allergens such as pollen and mold spores, and increases in concentrations of ozone, fine particles, and dust. Additionally, earlier flower blooming resulting from temperature increases and increased carbon dioxide concentrations will affect the timing of distribution of allergens such as pollen. Those allergens also could become more potent as temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations increase, the CDC says.
An allergy is a heightened sensitivity to a foreign substance — called an allergen — that causes the body’s immune system to overreact, according to experts at www.pollen.com. Normally, the immune system would only react if a harmful substance, such as bacteria, attacks the body, but people with allergies have hyperactive immune systems that react even when relatively harmless substances, such as pollen, are present. The severity of an allergic reaction can vary from mild discomfort to life-threatening situations.
Common allergic reactions, according to the website, include eczema, hives, hay fever, asthma, food allergies, pet dander allergies, as well as reactions to the venom of stinging insects such as wasps and bees. Treatments for allergies include avoidance, use of anti-histamines, steroids or other medications, and immunotherapy to desensitize the allergic response.
Weather plays an important part for many allergy and hay fever sufferers, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pittsburg’s pollen level is “high.”
Symptoms can include sneezing, wheezing, nasal congestion, coughing, itchy watery eyes, runny nose, itchy throat, stomach ache, and itchy skin, hives, fatigue, and irritability. The most common method doctors use to identify specific allergies is a skin test; by scratching the skin or making an injection just beneath the surface, the doctor observes your body's reaction to various allergens.
The skin test doesn’t classify all allergies but covers major categories, such as common respiratory allergies and allergic reactions to penicillin, food, and insect stings.
You may also want to consult with your doctor if you:
• Tend to have cold-like symptoms around the same time every year. This could be a sign of seasonal allergies.
• Sneeze and your eyes itch when you are around a house pet or when you are around people who may have house pets at home.
• Have sudden sneezing or upper respiratory congestion when you enter a particular environment such as your place of work or your basement. Note that symptoms may continue even after you leave the environment.
