Bless you! 'Horrible allergy season' hits Vermont

Gesundheit!

If you didn't sneeze recently, just hang on to that. Odds are you'll need it sooner rather than later.

Vermonters are sneezing, wheezing and coping with itchy eyes at a nearly unprecedented rate during a prolonged, intense allergy season.

"It is indeed a horrible pollen season," says allergist Dr. Betsy Jaffe, who called this year the worst she's seen in her two decades in practice.

Trees have borne much of the blame so far, but grasses are starting to become the main source of consternation.

People started feeling the effects of tree pollen in April, said Jaffe, who practices at Timber Lane Allergy and Asthma Associates in South Burlington. Since then, she's treated patients whose symptoms have ranged from sneezing, stuffiness and itchy eyes to those with eyes swelled shut.

"Pollen seasons are generally bad," she said, "but I haven't seen one like this."

Nasal allergies affect about 50 million people in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 30 percent of adults and 40 percent of children have allergies, statistics from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America show.

In Vermont, that would translate to roughly 150,000 adults and 52,000 children.

Why are conditions so oppressive this year? A number of factors, experts say.

Spring has been much wetter than normal, according to the National Weather Service, and somewhat cooler. That can transform a shorter, more intense release of allergens into a prolonged ordeal, Jaffe said.

"We had a longer time for all that pollen to be released," she said. "Instead of a big poof of pollen, it's been trickling out — though the pollen counts have been high for a long time, so maybe trickling's the wrong word."

And then there's climate change. Most researchers agree that rising temperatures are bringing allergens farther north and extending the growing season — and with it, the pollen season.

Plants thrive on carbon dioxide, the principal driver of climate change, according to most scientists who have studied the issue. 

"A longer growing season and increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are going to lead to increased amounts of pollen that cause seasonal allergies," said David Grass of the Vermont Health Department. He oversees programs for tracking environmental exposures and related health issues. "The existing rates of hay fever and seasonal allergies we see — we expect that to increase."

Climate change affects the three key contributors to allergic reactions, Grass said: How much pollen is in the air, how long people are exposed, and the intensity of the allergen.

With a plant, "you’ve got more vigorous growth, it's flowering earlier, and it's producing more pollen," he said. "It's one of the many ways that climate change can affect people's lives in really pernicious ways."

The bottom line for allergy-sufferers, then, is simple — and unfortunate: Get used to it.

"It's really only if you live in dry desert temperatures that you can escape," said Dr. Neeta Ogden, an allergist who practices in Englewood, New Jersey, and is a spokeswoman for the Illinois-based American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

"If you're on the East Coast," she added, "you're in trouble."

And people with allergies are unlikely to catch a break anytime soon. As tree-pollen season begins to fade, grass pollen kicks into high gear. June 9, for instance, marked the first day of 2017 that grass-pollen levels reached "moderate," up from "low."

What's more: Having a rough time with tree pollen can make people more susceptible to grass pollen, said Jaffe, the doctor at Timber Lane in South Burlington.

"We don't know if this has been the worst season ever — it feels like it — but there have been more days with high pollen counts than there have been in many years," she said. "I've worked here for 20 years, and this to me seems like the worst season. It's been a very symptomatic season for a lot of people."

There's a bit of hope on the horizon, though any reprieve is sure to be brief. Tree and grass pollen begins to tamp down toward the end of July or early August, Jaffe said.

But then the weed pollens get going.

So bless you. You're gonna need it eventually.

Allergy tips

Experts recommend a wide array of responses for people with allergies, ranging from coping strategies for minor allergies to full-on treatments for severe seasonal reactions:

• Run an air conditioner.
• Keep windows closed.
• Limit time outdoors.
• Change clothes when you get home.
• Wash your hands and face.
• Shower at night.
• Keep an eye on pollen counts, and take a 24-hour over-the-counter medication before days when allergies are expected to be bad.
• Find a board-certified allergist and meet with the doctor, even to discuss the best over-the-counter remedies. 
• Consider immunotherapy, where an allergist will determine what you're allergic to and then, through a series of injections over months or even years, train your body to resist reactions.

Source: American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

Contact Adam Silverman at 802-660-1854 or asilverman@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wej12.