The Independent-News, Volume 100, Number 6, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 6 September 1973 — Page 16

I whAy' ' ।

If you have an itch, a sneeze, a cough, or a wheeze, you may be a member of a very big club. At least 20 million Americans, possibly twice that number, suffer from some kind of allergy. Collectively, these people spend some 37 million days a year in bed with their ailments. Alergy is defined as “simply a sensitivity to things which are harmless in themselves.’’ The allergen might be as pervasive as house dust, as avoidable as garlic, as unavoidable as sunlight, as modern as plastic, as helpful as aspirin, as friendly as a dog, as common as potatoes, as innocuous as a seed, or as surprising as the sting of a bee. Emotional anxiety, too, can trigger attacks but is never the cause of an allergic disease. However, the patient’s own attitude toward his ailment can play an important part in controlling it. This is especially relevant for the hay fever sufferer, who is often portrayed as a silly, inept hypochondriac. The portrait is insensitive and inaccurate, but it can cause the victim to be ashamed of his own illness. It takes awhile, months or even years, for a case of hay fever to build up, even in a susceptible person. If you develop wild spells of sneezing, itchy, swollen eyes, and a congested nose, you are advised to make an appointment with a doctor as soon as possible, ignoring the trouble won’t make it go away, and it’s not only dangerous, but practically impossible, to diagnose your own illness. After the cause of the reaction is determined, a doctor may prescribe a series of injections to desensitize the victim. These should be given well in advance of the pollen season. Antihistamines are useful and sometimes air conditioning helps. If you’re a hay fever sufferer, you are also cautioned not to expect the daily pollen reports in newspapers or on radio and television news shows to reflect your own sneezing like a stock market report. The level of pollen doesn’t necessarily correspond to the amount of discomfort. If your hay fever hasn’t been treated yet by a doctor, you should try to avoid areas where you will encounter dusts; avoid getting chemically treated water from a swimming pool in your eyes and nose; and avoid insecticides and the fumes of paints, smoke and chemicals. You should also avoid contact with cosmetics, weed patches, and tobacco smoke, and hold down on the amount of alcoholic beverages you drink. Hay fever that isn’t treated may develop into asthma, which may in turn lead to emphysema, a much more serious lung disease. Experts say asthma can also be a product of infection, but it more often is the result of allergy. There is some indication that air pollution

Latest facts about allergy by Dr. Irwin Ross *—

may be a specific cause in some localities or at least an irritant for asthmatics. Much of the advice to hay fever sufferers applies also to people who have asthma. A doctor will probably prescribe a lot of liquids to counter dehydration, and he may use injections of adrenalin to help calm down the spasms of the bronchial tubes. Ipecac, which most households used to keep handy as first aid against poisoning, is also useful. It induces vomiting but also helps loosen the thick mucus in the bronchial tubes. None of these treatments should be used without the advice of a doctor. Sometimes a change of climate is advisable, but this should only be considered as a last resort. Besides, a person sensitive to one pollen might develop an allergy to another, even if he succeeds in escaping from his first allergy. Research still hasn’t yielded a cure for asthma, but with medical help and modern drugs it can be controlled. Skin allergies can also be controlled, and with much less trouble. Nevertheless, they are bothersome while they last. Poison ivy and its relatives, poison oak and sumac, are among common outdoor sources of allergy. If you’re one of the 75 per cent of Americans who react adversely to these three-pronged leaves, you should wash with soap and water as soon after exposure as possible. Skin rashes can be caused by many sources, however, and don’t necessarily come from actual contact of the skin with an allergen. People who are allergic to strawberry shortcake, for example, may react with an outbreak of hives, raised white welts on the skin surrounded by large reddened areas. Hives can be caused by exposure to any number of foods or drugs. A related allergy, sometimes called giant hives, doesn’t itch but can attack interior tissues as well as the skin. It is often caused by contact with a cosmetic, hair dye or mascara. Because both of these ailments are transient in most cases, the causes are sometimes difficult to determine. The allergic rash of eczema often appears in infancy. It usually disappears by the age of one or two, but if it isn’t treated by a doctor it can persist for many years and may leave permanent scars. A question that comes up with all skin allergies is whether or not to scratch the irritated areas. The answer is—don’t! In the case of poison ivy it can spread the condition. In eczema and hives it can break the skin and introduce bacteria, bringing on an overlying infection. It is wiser to keep hands off and treat

the rash by other means. A doctor might prescribe antihistamines which probably will stop the itching or make the swelling go down. When the respiratory system is involved, he may inject adrenalin. But the only cure for the allergy is a careful study by an expert to pinpoint the cause, then desensitization and avoidance of the trouble-causer. Common sense advice for persons with skin troubles includes suggestions to keep the affected area clean and protected and not to apply anything which would injure the normal skin. You may ask your doctor which medicines can be applied to reduce itching. Sometimes an oatmeal or starch bath helps. Above all, you should never treat yourself with medicines unless you are told which ones to use by a doctor. A more direct, sometimes lethal, attack on the skin comes from insects. Especially dangerous for sensitive persons are bees, hornets, yellow jackets, wasps, and fire ants. At least 30 Americans a year are killed by stings from these insects. Many more people experience reactions which range from hives, wheezing, and stomach cramps to swelling at the site of the sting. The best treatment of all is, again, desensitizing the allergic person to the venom’s material long before the chance of a sting occurs. Another good defense is to know the enemy, his habits, and his habitats. The only member of this deadly group which apparently "thinks twice’’ before attacking is the honey bee. For it to sting is to die, since the stinger and venom sac remain in the victim and tear away from the insect, causing it abdominal injury. The worker bee that is guarding the entrance to the hive is the most dangerous. A honey bee encountered in it^. nectar-gathering won’t sting unless provoked and will walk in a cupped hand without stinging unless it is squeezed or otherwise molested. The best way to deal with wasps is to destroy their nests. The open comb nests of the paper building social wasps can be knocked down with a strong stream from a garden hose, or the handle of a broom or a garden tool. Then the area should be sprayed for several consecutive days to keep the wasps from rebuilding in the same place. The sensitive person should make sure food is always covered and put away and garbage cans are kept clean and covered. Bright floppy clothing which might attract and trap insects should be avoided. So should sweet smelling cosmetics and hair dressings. The questions about allergy are still endless. But the answers are nearer now than anyone would have dreamed they could be a short time ago. It has only been a century since man didn’t know enough to ask the questions.