Science&Health: Sunshine and flowers and allergies, oh my
By Joie Guner
April 12, 2007 9:44 p.m.
The Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden can be a spring oasis for many with its warm breeze, bright blooming flowers and buzzing bees. But it can also be a congestion nightmare for others.
Seasonal allergies, an immune response triggered by pollen, affect millions of people in the United States, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
And spring’s hot weather, wind and increased pollen production have many people reaching for the tissue box.
The instigator of this allergic response, the pollen particle, enters the body through mucous membranes in the nose and eyes. The immune system carries out a full defense against the foreign particle by forming an antibody to it, leading to a secondary inflammatory response, said Robert Eitches, assistant clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
“(It is) sort of (like) trying to kill a fly and when you stomp on it, you hurt your foot,” he said.
The characteristic physiological symptoms include itchy eyes, throat and nose, and inflammation caused by the release of the chemical histamine, as well as mucous production leading to congestion. About 20 percent of the population produces the antibody IgE, which is responsible for the allergic response by the immune system, Eitches said.
Allergists determine what people are allergic to by performing a skin test whereby they scratch the surface of the skin and expose it to an allergen.
If the person is allergic to the specific allergen then the region will become itchy and inflamed, according to the Mayo Clinic Web site.
Andre Nel, chief of the nanomedicine division at the David Geffen School of Medicine and a doctor specializing in allergy and immunology, said it is first important for the patient to get diagnosed by a doctor to determine if he or she has allergies and to know exactly what the offending allergen is.
In order to cope with allergy symptoms, patients can avoid exposure to high pollen counts during the morning and use antihistamines if symptoms are mild.
“If you suffer from more severe allergy symptoms, do not rely only on antihistamines to treat yourself because antihistamines will only reduce the symptoms but will not get at the root of the problem,” Nel said.
“Do not neglect your allergies, because if you do, you may get additional consequences. … You might develop asthma,” he added.
There are a variety of treatments for allergies.
Antihistamines such as Claritin, which block the inflammation, do not make people drowsy and are nonaddictive. Allergens can also be washed with nasal sprays and artificial tears, Eitches said.
Patients with severe allergies can get immunotherapy, which involves injections of increasing dosages of the specific allergens that the patient is allergic to.
“You can consider it as a vaccine in which you increasingly build up immunity to the things that cause allergies like hay fever or ragweed or the pollen of trees,” said Maria Garcia-Lloret, a physician in the department of pediatric immunology, allergy and rheumatology at the UCLA Medical Center.
Currently, sublingual oral immunotherapy is being applied in Europe whereby the allergen “vaccine” is applied by mouth instead of injection.
The immunotherapies are specific for each individual, and after finishing the three to five year treatment patients do not need to take allergy medication again.
“The vaccine is tailor-made for your allergies. … (Sublingual immunotherapy) is the same principal … but instead of making it injectable, you do it by mouth,” Garcia-Lloret said. “It shows promising results.”
The Los Angeles pollution merely exacerbates allergies, based on research at the UCLA Asthma Center.
“Living in an urban environment such as Los Angeles and its air pollution, the 20 to 30 percent of allergies in this city changes to a figure that is much higher and it is probably closer to 40 percent. … Air pollution can contribute to strengthening allergic responses,” Nel said.
While students continue to frequent the botanical garden at UCLA, Eitches said he believes college students are the most likely to experience the effect of seasonal allergies.
As a result, the garden may not be exactly as serene as it may seem, at least during certain periods of the year.
