Ah-Chooo!

5/9/2008

To most people, springtime means daffodils, tulips, and beautifully blooming trees. To people who suffer from seasonal allergies, though, spring is an annual ordeal better known as the Kleenex season. And this year it’s hit with particular ferocity.

When you suffer a seasonal allergy (hay fever) depends on the time of year when your particular allergen blooms. As I write this in early May in Brooklyn, tree and flower pollens are the culprits. Later in the season various grasses will be the triggers.

Symptoms of seasonal allergies vary, but most of us experience:

• runny nose
• watery, itchy eyes
• scratchy throat
• cough
• congestion
• possibly wheezing

I would add fatigue to this list as well, as allergy sufferers commonly complain of not having their usual energy.

How do you ease the effects of seasonal allergies? No single approach to allergies does the trick. I recommend a combination of strategies that approach the problem in different ways.
 
1. Environmental control
Peak pollen counts occur late in the afternoon, right when kids are playing outside after school. Make sure your kids shower and change their clothes immediately after coming indoors to get that pollen off their hair and bodies. This one step alone makes a world of difference.

Consider using HEPA filters to reduce pollen loads in the home. Put a basic HEPA air-particle remover with replaceable filters in your child’s room, as well as any other places where he or she spends much time, such as the living or family rooms.

2. Simple remedies
Children who are old enough can flush out pollens and soothe irritated nasal passages using a neti pot or a saline nasal rinse. It’s a low-tech solution, but can be quite helpful if done several times a day.

3. Nutritional support
Make sure your allergy-prone kids eat lots of foods like fish, organic eggs, nuts, and ground flax that are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s in foods or supplements have a strong anti-allergy, anti-inflammatory action.

Hydration is important too. Water is particularly important to the cells of the nasal passages. Keeping the mucous membranes inside the nose nice and moist boosts their ability to deter allergens.

4. Over-the-counter medications
Today there are many kid-friendly and convenient preventive and symptom-relieving OTC drugs for allergies, among them:

• Loratadine (Claritin), a nonsedating, once-a-day syrup or tablet that can stave off or reduce seasonal allergy symptoms
• Cetirizine (Zyrtec), a nonsedating syrup or tablet that relieves allergy symptoms.

5. Prescription medications
There are two categories of prescription drugs I find most helpful:

• Leukotiene inhibitors reduce inflammatory reaction in the airways and lungs. Montelukast (Singulair) is an excellent choice for children as it is dosed once a day and has few side effects. I’ve used this drug for many years to reduce allergic symptoms and prevent wheezing with great results.
  [NOTE: Recently a warning was issued that several teenagers taking Singulair have committed suicide. While there is no suspicion of a causative relationship between the drug and these cases, the manufacturer and the FDA thought it prudent to alert physicians.]
• Nasal corticosteroid sprays desensitize the nasal passages to inhaled pollen. I’m cautious with the use of steroids, but in cases of severe allergy, they may be necessary. At those times I prefer to prescribe Nasonex spray because very little of the corticosteroid in it is actually absorbed into the body.

6. Botanical remedies
Herbal medicines can be helpful, but they may take several weeks to become effective and their use is confined to children old enough to swallow a capsule. The two herbal staples are nettles and quercetin. Both are generally safe for children older than eight years old. Your kids may have to get over the strong smell of the freeze-dried herbs in the capsules, though.