Nothing to Sniff At : Pollen Rates Have Almost Doubled, Triggering Allergy Misery

For Susan Evans, the misery started with a stuffed nose, which then developed into a swollen throat and major sinus headache.

“I feel terrible,” the housewife said recently between sniffs in the waiting room of her doctor’s office in Orange. “It’s harder to breathe, I don’t sleep well and I don’t have my usual energy. My whole lifestyle has slowed down.”

For Burma Doretti, a retired school bus driver from Anaheim, it began about a week ago with her eyes watering.

And Ana Maria Silberman, a fitness trainer in Aliso Viejo, has experienced enough chest congestion in the past few weeks to last a lifetime. “I feel uncomfortable,” she said, “and I don’t want to be sick.”

Welcome to the beginning of allergy season. Only this time, experts say, recent rains that have eased a six-year drought are helping to wreak more physical havoc among allergy sufferers than in recent years. The rains have promoted rapid plant growth, and dry spells after the rainfall have made it easier for pollen to become airborne.

“It’s the worst season in memory,” said Dr. Mark Ellis, an allergist in Orange. “Last year was bad, but this year is worse.”

His office’s weekly counts of pollen--the airborne plant material that causes most allergic reactions--confirm that bleak assessment. For several weeks, he said, the number of airborne pollen grains collected at his office have been significantly higher--in some cases nearly double--the average of 197 grains per cubic meter over the past three years. Last week the count was 234 grains per cubic meter, and the week before it was 377. During the same period last year, Ellis said, the count was about 89.

One result, according to several Orange County allergists, is bulging patient loads that are 20% to 30% higher than usual. “I think it will be a fairly brisk season,” said Dr. Arthur Turk, whose practice in Tustin and Huntington Beach reported a 25% increase in new patients--especially those suffering from asthma and sinusitis--during the first two weeks of March.

Dr. John Chiu, president of the Orange County Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and a practitioner in Anaheim and Newport Beach, said he is also seeing increased symptoms in about half of his existing patients.

And Dr. John Tencati, with offices in Newport Beach and Irvine, reports a 25% increase in patients over the past several weeks with such symptoms as runny noses, sneezing, itchy and watery eyes, bronchitis, wheezing, sinus problems and hives.

The trend is also reflected in some hospitals in the county.

Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo reports that 14 patients with acute asthma or bronchial problems sought treatment in the emergency room last week, compared to only six during the same period in 1991. Last month, according to hospital spokeswoman Wendy Harle, emergency doctors were seeing only about seven upper-respiratory patients a week. And Martin Luther Hospital in Anaheim reports a similar trend, with 15 bronchitis or asthma patients receiving emergency treatment during the first two weeks of March, compared to only eight for the same period last year.

Doctors attribute the increasing number of allergic reactions to the high density of pollen in the air caused by the recent rains, followed by a period of relative dryness and calm. The rains promoted the rapid growth of plants, grass and trees, they say, while the dryness has enabled the pollen from the new growth to become airborne and spread. When inhaled by people with allergies, the doctors say, the pollen grains--especially those from trees such as ash, alder, sycamore, mulberry and olive--can wreak havoc in the eyes, nose and lungs.

According to Turk, about 20% of the U.S. population has a genetic predisposition to pollen allergies although, in many cases, the symptoms do not appear until late in life. In California, where the climate generally promotes plant growth, he said, such allergic reactions are common, most frequently in March, April and May.

Ellis says he treats allergy sufferers in a variety of ways. First, he encourages them to stay indoors as much as possible, keep windows shut, run air conditioners, avoid yard work or perform it wearing a mask. In many cases, he said, medications such as decongestants, antihistamines, nose sprays and eyedrops can help. And in some cases, vaccines of pollen extracts can all but eliminate symptoms.

For most sufferers, however, even the best relief is only temporary, according to Ellis. That seemed evident among the crowd of snifflers sitting in the doctor’s waiting room on a recent morning.

“Some days it isn’t even controllable,” complained David Burke, 21, a UC Riverside student who experiences frequent postnasal drip resulting from hay fever.

He wouldn’t have been cheered much by Dr. Tencati.

“It will get a lot worse before it gets better,” Tencati predicted. “April and May will be really bad months.”

Allergy Season In The Air

It’s spring, and like the birds and the bees, plants are also mating. Many trees, grasses and weeds have begun releasing wind-borne pollen. This means sneezing, teary eyes and stuffy noses for the 10% to 20% of people with hay fever, an allergy to plant pollens. How badly they suffer can depend on weather and time of day.

1) (MORNING) Pollen Released: Most plants release pollen in the morning, and it floats up as the ground warms.

2) (AFTERNOON) Carried Away: It flies farther on dry, windy days. On humid days, moisture weighs it down.

3) (EVENING) Settles to the Ground: When the ground cools, pollen falls back to earth.

What is Pollen?

The male parts of a flower produce pollen grains that contain sperm cells. They emerge when pollen lands on the female part of another plant’s flower.

Weeds: Weeds pollinate from April to November, peaking in August. Local sources such as sagebrush and ragweed aren’t a big problem, but Santa Ana winds can blow weed pollen in from the desert.

Trees: February is worst for tree pollen, when 10 major types begin pollinating. Trees continue through April. Local kinds that cause allergies include ash, alder, olive, oak and sycamore.

Grasses: Most grasses pollinate from March through October, peaking in May. Grass pollen affects more people in Orange County than other types. Bermuda grass is a big trouble-maker.

Tips for sufferers

* Close windows

* Use air conditioner

* Stay indoors in morning and late afternoon

* Avoid yard work or wear face mask

* Antihistamines relieve some symptoms

* Prescriptions may block symptoms

* See a doctor for treatment and advice

Sources: Professor of Biology David Walkington, Director of Cal State Fullerton Arboretum; Allergy Medical Clinic research associate Bonnie Ank; allergist Dr. Mark Ellis.

Researched by DANNY SULLIVAN / Los Angeles Times