Things get worse for allergy sufferers

Friday, April 2, 2004 | 11:31 a.m.

As winds whipped the Las Vegas Valley on Thursday, a stew of airborne pollens sent sneezing, wheezing and coughing allergy sufferers crowding into doctors' offices, medical personnel said.

Aside from the windy conditions, the valley's winter and spring have brought a series of alternating hot and cold spells, sending more pollen into the air, said Carol Barlow, an osteopathic doctor specializing in preventive medicine and environmental medicine at the Allergy Institute of Nevada.

That pattern is continuing with today's cool down, and while today's rain will temporarily ground dust and pollen, the brief respite will be followed by growth spurts from the quenched trees and grasses.

Mulberry and cedar trees, grasses and ambrosia, the desert's version of ragweed, were contributing to the eye-burning discomfort this week, said Monte Symmonds of the Clark County Air Quality Division.

In addition, pine, ash and juniper trees have added to the misery.

"There's a little bit of everything out there," Symmonds said Thursday afternoon as he counted pollen grains under a microscope.

The one bit of good news for allergy sufferers is that olive trees haven't bloomed. But Symmonds said he expects them to blossom by mid-April.

The early onset of pollens and heightened suffering that valley residents are experiencing are the results of late February rains, Symmonds said.

At the Allergy Institute of Nevada, sneezing secretaries, coughing construction workers and others arrived for treatment.

"We've been really busy with allergies," medical assistant Joan Young said.

When winds kick up dust in Southern Nevada, they stir pollen and molds into the air as well, Barlow said.

Allergy sufferers should stay indoors and close windows and doors, Barlow said.

"Drive with the windows up and the air conditioning on," she said.

Pets going in and out of the house can bring pollen inside, Barlow said.

Add air pollution to the pollen and dust and "you just have a nightmare," Barlow said.

Experts also recommend that allergy sufferers take showers at night before they go to bed to get the pollen off them and out of their hair before they go to sleep.

Barlow said she is an allergy sufferer herself. She started medical school with a three-week-old baby who developed allergies severe enough to be treated with steroids at age 5.

"That's when I became interested in the whole picture," Barlow said.

A study released Thursday by the University of Michigan Health System said that 20 years ago, about 10 percent of the population suffered seasonal allergies. Today that rate is 20 to 25 percent.

Experts suspect the "hygiene hypothesis" is to blame for the increase in allergies, the study said. As doctors treat infections with antibiotics and vaccines, children avoid exposure to many infections, failing to challenge their immune systems. The immune system gets bored and reacts to allergens.