It's sneezin' season, but we've got remedies
By VIKKI CONWELL Cox News Service

Jacqueline Higgins dresses for battle when she plays in the dirt. "I have to be all suited up just to go outside," says the Stockbridge, Ga., woman of the mask, long sleeves, long pants and other protective gear she wears to plant flowers in her yard. Her enemies: trees, weeds, grass, molds, mites, insects and animal dander.

"It's a shame for a person like me who likes to work in the yard to be allergic to everything under the sun," she says. "It's miserable to have severe allergies."

Most of the 40 million Americans with allergies have mild ones "and never need to see a doctor," says Dr. Dawn Zacharias of the Allergy & Asthma Centre of Dayton, Ohio. Over-the-counter antihistamines keep their symptoms in check.

But as trees begin blooming for spring and grasses shed their pollen in the summer, that leaves millions whose noses still drip, eyes still itch, throats still tickle, skin still reddens and sneezes still reverberate.

Many will suffer through peak pollen periods from March through May, with the highest pollen counts occurring in the morning. The adverse immune reactions to everyday substances also produce wheezing and chest tightness and can contribute to sleep apnea and snoring.

"The symptoms won't kill you, but they can be very disabling," says Alpen Patel, an allergy specialist at Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta.

A variety of prescription and over-thecounter drugs are available to combat allergies. The correct one depends not only on a person's symptoms but also on his or her particular body chemistry, says Dr. John H. Boyles Jr. of Washington Twp, Ohio.

Straight antihistamines - without the "D" for decongestant in their names - are the safest allergy drugs, Boyles says. But in the years since Claritin became available without a prescription and more cheaply, insurers often have required patients to base their medication choices on cost, rather than effectiveness and safety.

"That's really bad because different ones work differently in different people," Boyles says. "Penicillin kills a strep infection in everybody. But antihistamines aren't like that. A person who doesn't get results from one antihistamine should try another one. That one might work."

The best defense against allergies is to avoid the allergen. It helps to use airconditioners instead of opening windows, to stay inside as much as possible from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and to keep clothing, hair and skin clean when pollen levels are high. ¦