Arming Against Your Allergies

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Arming Against Your Allergies
September 25, 2007
By CECILIA OLECK | Detroit Free Press
Courant.com

You count on them for relief when allergy season kicks in and your runny nose, stuffed-up sinuses, itchy eyes and nonstop sneezing make life miserable.

But with an estimated 50 million Americans suffering from seasonal allergies, there's a good chance that the doctor helping you get through hay fever season also is trying to cope with similar symptoms.

It's hard for anyone to escape the culprits - ragweed, molds and dust mites. Ragweed pollen can travel hundreds of miles and carries well on warm, windy fall days. Molds can be found both indoors and outdoors. Dust mites, year-round allergens, thrive in warm, humid conditions such as those in late summer and fall.

Most allergy sufferers will feel relief once the first frost arrives. But how to cope in the meantime? We asked experts to tell us their best tested-on-themselves tips for keeping allergies at bay.

Marcus DeGraw, medical director at St. John Hospital Children's Center in Detroit, suffers from allergies year-round, but his symptoms spike during the peak seasons, spring and autumn.

Typically they include nasal stuffiness and congestion, trouble breathing, itchy eyes and sneezing.

"There's more snoring than usual, which bothers my wife," said DeGraw, 35, who has struggled with allergies since he was a teenager.

He started getting allergy shots about a year and a half ago after finding that other medications weren't working.

The shots, said DeGraw, include doses of the things he's allergic to, helping to reduce his sensitivity to those allergens. A patient is tested for allergies to pollen, mold, animal dander and dust mites and given individualized injections.

DeGraw's insurance covers his shots. Allergy shots can be expensive initially, because patients generally need to get them weekly before tapering down to once a month. Even though many insurance policies cover the shots, co-pay costs can add up.

DeGraw, a pediatrician, gets a shot once a month rather than wait for allergy symptoms to flare up. It's more effective, he said.

"The idea is to keep them at bay rather than make them better when they're bad," he said.

To minimize allergens at home, DeGraw uses allergy-proof pillowcases and mattress covers.

Nana Mireku, allergy fellow at Detroit Medical Center Children's Hospital, is accustomed to treating allergies in both children and adults.

When it comes to treating herself, Mireku, 31, sticks to a simple plan.

She uses a nasal spray and an antihistamine to head off the nasal congestion, itchy eyes and sneezing that she usually experiences.

"When the season starts, I will start using them," she said.

She also follows practical allergy-reducing recommendations such as using air conditioning in her car and home rather than opening windows.

Chad McKernan, a chiropractor in Shelby Township, Mich., says his allergies haven't bothered him in years - ever since as a teenager he started seeing a chiropractor for help with chronic asthma, allergies and ear infections.

McKernan, 32, credits the periodic spinal adjustments he still receives - and now doles out - with helping his immune system to function better and resist allergens. Generally accepted as a way to treat lower back pain, many consider chiropractic care a way to strengthen the immune system by relieving stress on the nervous system by aligning bones, joints and muscles along the spine. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America lists chiropractic manipulation as a useful alternative therapy, though scientifically the benefits as an allergy remedy need more research.

McKernan credits chiropractic care with virtually eliminating his allergy problems.

"It's not really an issue anymore," said McKernan, who goes to other chiropractors for adjustments, also called spinal manipulations. "If I go too long without an adjustment, I'll make sure that I get everything into alignment before I feel any symptoms."

For Christian Nageotte, an allergist at Henry Ford Medical Center in West Bloomfield, Mich., the cat is the problem. The physician is allergic to animal dander, but that doesn't stop his family from having a furry pet at home, so it's up to Nageotte to learn how to cope.

He sets boundaries for the cat, which is not allowed in his bedroom. He makes sure the filter on his furnace works well and also keeps a high-efficiency particulate air purifier in his bedroom.

And he steers clear of the cat as much as possible.

"Limit your exposure if you can't find another home for the animal," said Nageotte.

Both Nageotte, 38, and his 5-year-old daughter, who gets seasonal allergies, use steroid nasal sprays and oral antihistamines. Nageotte said he prefers the prescription nasal sprays because there is less risk for addiction or withdrawal symptoms.

Copyright © 2007, The Hartford Courant