Since Natashia Johnson was a toddler, every September has brought coughing, sneezing and wheezing.
The eighth-grader from East Liberty recently began breathing treatments for asthma, and this week she went to Children’s Hospital in Lawrenceville to undergo a battery of tests for allergies ranging from dust mites to weeds and spores.
“It’s been a problem for years, but I just figured it was colds or the changing of the weather,” said Crystal Tate, Johnson’s grandmother. “I’m relieved that we have a diagnosis now and medicines that will hopefully keep her healthy.”
Johnson is one of scores of people afflicted with itchy, watery eyes, inflamed bronchial passages and stuffy noses as Western Pennsylvania heads into what Dr. Todd Green calls “the asthma and allergy epidemic every September.”
“All of the increased pollen and mold spores combine with the common cold virus and all of the germs kids in particular are passing back and forth once they go back to school,” said Green, a doctor in Children’s Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Allergy & Immunology. “Anyone who is prone to asthma or allergy usually sees an increase in symptoms this month.”
Dr. Deborah Gentile, director of research at the Division of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology at Allegheny General Hospital in the North Side said this weekend may be particularly difficult on allergy sufferers and asthma patients. Temperatures are forecast to dip into the 40s and 50s at night and rise to the high 60s or low 70s through Tuesday, with isolated thunderstorms expected early in the week.
“The swing in temperatures, especially after coming off of a hot summer, can really affect people who are already vulnerable to these conditions,” Gentile said.
The Allegheny General practice typically treats 40 to 50 asthma and allergy patients a week, but that can double in September and October, she said.
The Pittsburgh region has a high concentration of weed allergens and mold spores in the air, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
The National Allergy Bureau reporting station at Allegheny General measured a pollen level of 4.6 out of 12 on Saturday — up sharply from 1.2 on Thursday — and it is expected to remain at that elevated level through at least Monday. Concentrations of ragweed, sagebrush, chenopods and mold spores are likely to keep increasing throughout the month.
Recent rains brought more humidity and mold, Green said. Decaying vegetation and falling leaves carry ragweed pollen and mold spores and tend to trigger hay fever attacks, said Guillermo Cole, spokesman for the Allegheny County Health Department.
Asthma and allergy sufferers can expect an increase in allergen and mold spore-producing conditions for the next six weeks to two months, Gentile said.
“It’s really until we get that first good frost, which severely declines the mold and pollen counts, that people will be having difficulty,” Gentile said.
Patients with a history of problems are encouraged to see their doctor or allergist in summer to begin a prevention and maintenance plan of medications and treatments.
As Johnson, 13, sat in an exam room at Children’s, she looked down at her arms, marked with pen strikes indicating what triggered reactions during an allergy test. The results indicated she probably is not prone to mold, cat and dog allergies or reactions from histamines, but she will have to continue a daily medicine for asthma prevention and the use of an inhaler for flare-ups.
“I hope she outgrows it,” her grandmother said. “She is miserable this time of year.
Ease your suffering
Tips to relieve symptoms and suffering for allergy and asthma sufferers:
– Avoid the outdoors on dry, windy days, when pollen and mold spore counts are likely to be high. Rainy days or days with little or no wind are better for outdoor activity.
– Keep windows and doors closed to keep pollen and spores out of your home.
– Minimize outdoor activities in the morning, when pollen counts are highest.
– Keep car windows and vents closed.
– Set your car’s air conditioner to recirculate inside air and block outside air.
– Brush off pets before they come indoors; pollens and mold spores can cling to their fur.
– Shampoo your hair before bed to keep your pillow and case pollen-free.
– Don’t mow grass or rake leaves, since these activities stir up pollen and spores.
– Don’t hang sheets or clothing outside, especially on days when pollen counts are high.
– Limit how many plants you keep indoors, because wet soil produces mold.
Source: Allegheny County Health Department
Leading culprits
Top three weed allergens causing symptoms and flare-ups for sufferers in Western Pennsylvania:
Ragweed: Flowering plants that live for just one season but produce up to 1 billion pollen grains each.
Goldenrod: Perennial flowering plant typically found in meadows, pastures and along roadsides and ditches.
Artemisia: Group of plants belonging to the daisy family, commonly known as sagebrush or wormwood.
Top three species of mold spores causing problems for allergy and asthma sufferers in the Pittsburgh region:
Cladosporium: Fungi commonly found in living and dead plant material.
Basidiospores: Mold found in soil, decaying plants and compost piles that gives off a heavy, musty odor.
Ascospores: Plant mold triggered by rain.
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