Nose Knows This Is Allergy Season

It happens every year at this time in Southern California.

The winds whip up the microscopic male sex cells from plants, what we usually call pollen. Airborne by the tens of millions, these barbed spheres are intended to fertilize other plants. Instead, many find their way into the moist nostrils and lungs of humans, causing allergies that can wreak havoc until summer.

“It’s starting off to be a bad season,” said Dr. Arthur Turk, an allergist practicing in Huntington Beach and Tustin.

This year’s above-average rainfall and high winds, experts say, have combined to produce airborne pollen levels roughly twice as high in Orange County as those of a year ago. “It’s getting to the point where people are being significantly bothered,” Turk said.

Orange County allergists report increases in their patient loads over the last four weeks or so ranging from 15% to 25%. While not breaking any records, they say, the high volume of patients puts this season at about 7 on a scale of 10, with 10 being the worst.

“It’s been a very impressive season for people with allergies,” said Dr. Joel E. Lewis, an allergy specialist in Costa Mesa. “It’s been rough.”

The sufferers are those with allergies to pollen and other airborne materials. Most people inhaling the tiny particles simply excrete them without incident through their mucus or saliva. For about 25% of the population, however--some 500,000 Orange County residents--the results are much worse. The pollen releases a protein causing an allergic reaction that can result in itching, sneezing, runny or stuffy noses, asthma and inflammation of the nasal passages or bronchial tubes.

They are people like 8-year-old Max Adelson of Corona del Mar, whose mother brought him to the doctor this week to clear up a post-nasal drip. “It seems like it’s a lot worse,” Kristen Adelson said. “It never ends all day and all night. It’s never completely gone.”

If you are prone to allergies, doctors say, there are a number of ways to cut down the risk. “Just closing your windows can lower the indoor pollen count a thousandfold,” said Dr. Mark Ellis, an allergist in Orange. In addition, he recommends getting an air purifier, avoiding yard work and wearing a mask.

If the symptoms persist, you should see a specialist who can treat you with special medications.

That’s what Wilbur Channels, a 17-year-old Costa Mesa high school student, did for the runny nose, sore throat and headache he has been battling for weeks. “I blame it on the air,” he said. “I don’t want to be sick right now, it’s a bad time. It would impair my studying.”

And over at the other end of the crowded doctor’s waiting room, Lorna Dorsman of Costa Mesa sat with her 10-year-old daughter, Caroline, whose skin breaks out with the wind. “This is the worst year she’s had,” the mother said. “It’s just getting out of control.”