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That annoying itching and sneezing that signals the arrival of spring allergies is back -- and it's only going to get worse.
Fort Worth and Dallas were the two worst cities in the country for allergies Tuesday, with pollen counts nearly off the charts, according to data at www.pollen.com. All the recent rain has brought nothing but bad news for anyone who is sensitive to pollen from trees, grasses and mold."Certainly it is going to be a bad season, and it's going to get much worse," said Dr. John Fling, a Fort Worth allergist and associate professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. "April and May will be just terrible for allergies because of the rain."The biggest offender is mold, but trees and grasses aren't far behind. Even if the recent rains have helped clear the air, the wind is sending the pollen flying and causing plenty of sneezes.Trees and grass pollen peak in April or May and typically overlap each other, creating a double whammy for those who are sensitive.It's hard to predict the allergy season. Normally it starts off gradually and picks up, but this year is different, said Dr. David Khan, professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas."It's hitting more aggressively and all at once, so a lot of people are suffering," he said. "People who are allergic to trees and grasses are in big trouble."Plenty of people are already miserable."I'll wake up at 2 in the morning, and the roof of my mouth is itching really, really bad," said Arthur Autrey of Watauga. "I can feel my nasal cavity swelling, and pretty soon it completely shuts up like a steel trap."That's when I go grab some Benadryl."The antihistamine, along with a slew of other medications, will likely be in high demand.If Claritin, Zytrec and other over-the-counter medications don't do the trick, allergy sufferers should consult a doctor.Nasal steroid sprays such as Flonase are the mainstay for allergies, but they must be started before the season begins, Fling said. Still, it's not too late.For children, over-the-counter medications can be a good option for allergies if they're age-appropriate, said Dr. Jason Terk, a Keller pediatrician. Right now, he's seeing more viruses than allergies in his patients. But if that stuffy nose is caused by a virus, over-the-counter cough and cold medications aren't very effective, he said. In young children, they can have an adverse effect.Old-fashioned interventions such as saline irrigation and humidifiers tend to be the best choice in those cases, Terk said.In the future, pills could one day be used much like allergy shots to desensitize the individual. The pills are already being tested in Europe but have not been approved for use in the United States.The biggest obstacle: Most people in Texas have multiple allergies and would probably need a different pill for each one, Fling said.For now, allergy sufferers can brace for a rough spring and possibly an even worse fall, especially if there's a lot more rain, as predicted."We've had so much rain, it's going to really be a bad ragweed season," Fling said.JAN JARVIS, 817-390-7664
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