Pollen extends suffering

Wednesday, April 29, 1998 | 10:21 a.m.

This year's pollen season is truly something to sneeze at and it's not over yet.

Mike Naylor, director of the air pollution control division of the Clark County Health District, said that this year's pollen season is one of the worst on record.

"The pollen season has lasted longer and peak levels have been higher than before," Naylor said.

The March composite peak levels of mulberry grains this year are 23,000 per cubic meter of air compared to last year's 17,000 grains per cubic meter peak.

Naylor said it's possible that the extreme pollen season could be due to the excessive rain the Las Vegas Valley had during the winter due to El Nino.

Naylor said the mulberry pollen that usually ends after early April, is still present due to the valley's late spring.

The pollen from the olive trees, which Naylor said seems to be more potent than mulberry, is supposed to arrive in mid-April, but has yet to be found this year.

Although the county banned certain mulberry and olive trees from being planted in June 1995, there are still an estimated 200,000 mulberry and olive trees in the valley.

Aggie Roberts, a horticulturist at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, said the valley is experiencing an increase in pollen because each year the trees get bigger and produce more.

"I think this year, people have more allergies than ever before," Roberts said. "We get more and more calls from people wanting to know what's making them sneeze."

Richard Alexander, a holistic health practitioner at the Allergy Elimination Clinic, said the spring allergy season should last another two or three weeks.

He said for those who have tried conventional approaches for treating their allergies to no avail, there is another option.

The holistic approach applied at the clinic on 5625 W. Flamingo Road involves using acupressure to reprogram the central nervous system to accept the allergen rather than reject it so there is no longer an allergic reaction.

"Once you've passed the treatment, the allergies won't come back," Alexander said.