Autumn allergens

Cool, breezy days of autumn invite you to go outside or at least, open your windows. But for Dr. Robert Bachman, a fall-time allergy sufferer, it’s time to hunker down.

Fall pollens stick around for about six weeks, ending by the middle to late October. If temperatures dip into the 30s for two or more consecutive nights, the challenging period can be shorter.

THE CULPRITS

Mold spores: They are microscopic fungi —- related to mushrooms —- but without stems, roots or leaves. Outdoor mold spores grow in moist, shady areas such as soil, decaying leaves and rotting wood.

Ragweed pollen: A hearty green plant prevalent throughout metro Atlanta.

A ragweed plant lives only one season, but that plant produces up to 1 billion pollen grains. After midsummer, as nights grow longer, ragweed flowers mature and release pollen. The No. 1 culprit locally.

HOW TO ATTACK

> Keep windows closed to prevent pollens or molds drifting into your home. Instead, if needed, use air conditioning, which cleans, cools and dries the air.

> Don’t use attic fan that circulate fresh air.

> Stay inside as much as possible on windy days when pollen counts are highest.

> Don’t rake leaves, as this stirs up molds.

> Wear a mask when doing yard work or mowing the lawn.

> Exercise indoors.

> Don’t grow too many or overwater indoor plants if you are allergic to mold. Wet soil encourages mold growth.

> Consider taking over-the-counter allergy treatments such as Claritin and Zyrtec.

—- Helena Oliviero

ALLERGEN WAR INDOORS AIDS IN FIGHT OUTDOORS

While it’s hard to dodge pollens and molds outdoors, seasonal patients will suffer less if they control their exposure to allergens indoors, believes Dr. Kingsley Chin of Piedmont Ear, Nose, Throat and Related Allergy.

The bedroom is the particular battleground where Chin encourages patients to focus on “environmental control,” since that’s where most people spend a third of their lives. If you can get make your resting place as free of allergens as possible, then those eight hours of sleep give your system a chance to recover, leaving you in better shape to ward off outdoor enemies the next day.

Here’s are some of Chin’s suggestions for controlling allergens indoors, culled from a patient handout:

> If you’ve been outside a lot during the day, pollen is on your body and clothes. Don’t bring them into the bedroom. Upon arriving home, immediately take a shower and change clothes.

> Use allergy covers over pillows and mattresses. These zippable and washable covers trap dust mites, microscopic critters who live in mattresses and pillows by the millions and whose droppings stir allergies.

> Wash all bed coverings weekly in hot water, which kills dust mites.

> Purchase a HEPA filter, which will significantly reduce allergens in a typical bedroom. A HEPA filter should exchange the air in a bedroom about six times an hour, so keep it going on high even when the room is unoccupied and keep the door and windows closed. It can run at a quieter level when it’s sleeptime.

> Remove carpets and drapes (or wash the latter frequently in hot water).

> Don’t allow books, magazines and papers to stack up because they accumulate dust.

> Try to keep the humidity level in the house below 50 percent, as dust mites and molds appreciate moisture to grow.

> Leave a light on in bedroom closets or keep the doors open to discourage mold.

> Sorry Bowser and Miss Kitty, no more sleeping with your master.

—- Howard Pousner

5 SIGNS IT’S TIME TO SEE AN ALLERGIST OR EAR, NOSE AND THROAT SPECIALIST

> Wheezing

> Persistent coughing (lasting more than a week)

> Discolored sinus discharge (lasting more than a week)

> You breathe with your mouth open at night while sleeping (a sign your nose is really blocked)

> You’ve tried over-the-counter medication for a week and symptoms don’t improve.

WHERE ATLANTA RANKS

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has released its 2008 list of the top 100 fall allergy cities.

>Atlanta, No. 80.

>Augusta, No. 16

>Greensboro, N.C., No. 1.

The foundations 2008 list of the top 100 spring allergy cities:

> Atlanta, No. 56

> Augusta , No. 4

>Lexington, Ky., No. 1

—- Compiled by Helena Oliviero

Sources: American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology; Dr. George Gottlieb, a DeKalb Medical allergist; Dr. Stanley Fineman of Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic; Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America