May Flowers Make Students Sour
Anna Bassham | May 8, 2006 02:34 PM | Link
This allergy season seems to be in full swing at the University of Kansas. With beautiful blooming flowers, green grass and sunny days inevitably come itching noses and red eyes for those who are allergic to pollen and mold.
According to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology, this allergy, frequently called hay fever, affects 35 million people in the United States. It is triggered by allergens such as pollens or molds.
The most common allergies include pollens, molds, dust mites, animal dander (dead skin flakes from animals with fur), foods, medications, cockroach droppings and insect stings. Most of these allergies are in full swing during the spring.
Dr. Randall Rock of Watkins Health Center said the current allergy season might be particularly bad news for allergy sufferers. He said that the relatively mild winter last year allowed for early blooming of many plants. He also said that the current increase in moisture would increase mold spore counts.
Click play to view video on seasonal allergies at KU
Bryan Busby, chief meteorologist at KMBC 9 NEWS, agrees that last winter's mild weather is to blame for the early start of allergy suffering. He said temperatures were above normal and there was not much snow or precipitation, both of which made plants come up sooner in the season.
"Plants were 'fooled' into thinking winter was over, so they started to sprout out of the ground earlier," Busby said.
Not only were the plants fooled, but so were millions of allergy sufferers. People with allergies didn't expect to have allergy problems right after Christmas. Busby said that viewers of his show caught him off-guard in late winter when they demanded a pollen count.
"I remember getting calls from viewers in February complaining about the pollen, and officially those readings aren't taken until much later in the year, so I couldn't give them a number for them to gauge their discomfort," He said.
Latricia Bradley, Kansas City sophomore, said she noticed her allergy problems started much earlier than usual. "I am usually allergy-free until May or June, but this year it all started in March," Bradley said.
If the weather is dry this season, people who are allergic to pollen may sniffle even more. Ed Roberts, a meteorologist at the Kansas City Weather Podcast, said that drier weather leads to a longer pollen season.
"The simple premise is that with nothing to wash the pollen out of the air, the pollen remains suspended," Roberts said. "The pollen does not move until either a different air mass moves in, or rain helps to wash some of it out."
Jennifer Schack, meteorologist at Channel 6News, said the average high temperature in January of last year was 52.5 degrees fahrenheit. Two record high temperatures were broken in January:one on January 1 at 66 degrees fahrenheit, and again on January 15 at 65 degrees fabrenheit. And, Schack said, according to official Lawrence records, we only had a "trace" amount of precipitation during the entire month of February.
"January went down as the third warmest January on record here in lawrence (records began in 1893), and the warmest on record for Topeka and Kansas City," Schack said.
The relatively dry weather last winter could be a relief to those allergic to mold, since it needs moisture to grow and release mold spores. But with the recent increase in precipitation, the mold spore count should start to go up and then there will be many more mold spores in the air to irritate those with allergies.
The amount of wind also affects allergies. Dr. Gillian Shepherd, MD, chair of the Education Sub-Committee of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, said that the amount of wind also affects pollen counts.
"On windy days, or for days after high winds, pollen counts are high because the pollen has been spread throughout the air,” Shepherd said.
Overall, Dixon said that a person's allergy season experience depends on which allergen they are allergic to, and how much of that allergen is present in the area.
"In any given year, due to weather conditions, different pollens and molds may be more prevalent, leading some people to have a better allergy season, and some to have a worse one," Dixon said.
Some people who are genetically disposed may suddenly develop allergy symptoms. Kristin Moody, Wichita sophomore, said she has been experiencing more allergies than ever before this spring. Her allergies seem to have sprung up out of nowhere.
"It's weird, because usually I don't have allergies. But for weeks now my nose has itched and I've had a dry cough," She said. "I like spring, but why do flowers have to pollinate?"
Kristin is not alone. Nearly 35 million people suffer from allergic rhinitis, or seasonal allergies. Dr. William Dixon of Student Health Center said that people may develop allergies after a move or being repeatedly exposed to an allergen.
"Someone who moved to Lawrence may be fine for several years, and then develop overt allergy symptoms," He said.
Fortunately, many non-prescription medications are now available to alleviate allergy symptoms effectively. Claritin and Allegra are two allergy medications that just recently became over-the-counter. Rock said that he has not experienced a significant increase in student visits to the Watkins Allergy Clinic. He attributed this to students finding over-the-counter medications useful in treating allergy symptoms.
“With effective, lower-cost allergy medication now available without prescription, the number of visits to our clinic may be impacted by appropriate self-care choices,” Rock said.
LINKS:
Click here to see today's pollen and mold count