Summer’s Weather Causing Severe Allergy Season this Fall

Otolaryngology Associates, with two locations of its ear, nose and throat (ENT) practice in New York City, is seeing a surge in patients who suffer from ragweed allergies, and expect an unusually severe and extended season. The practice is also experiencing an uptick in patients that are affected by the non-seasonal airborne allergens such as mold and dust mites.

This summer, and extending into the early Fall, residents along the East Coast experienced a record-breaking summer of high-heat and record rainfalls. When combined, they formed the perfect storm to growth of these allergens.

In August, it was reported that the Northeast experienced record ragweed pollen counts. Ragweed thrives in lots of water and sun. It blooms around August and can continue producing pollen through the late fall until a killing frost. Weather experts expect that it will be a long blooming season because for the last decade killing frosts have been occurring later and later.

Hurricane Irene, which caused record-breaking rainfall all along the East Coast, caused severe flooding of “epic proportions” according to NASA. High levels of rain are also ideal for the proliferation of another common allergen, mold. Although it is not a seasonal allergen, mold multiplies quickly in damp conditions. The Northeast typically has much dryer weather conditions in late summer to early fall, and is expected to have unusually high levels of mold this year. Dust-mites are also a widespread allergen that has reached unusual levels due to the high heat experienced this summer.

Allergic reactions to air-born allergens can range from mild to severe. Usual symptoms include stuffy or runny nose, sneezing and itchy eyes. Other symptoms can include coughing, fatigue, and sore throat. These symptoms can sometimes lead to more serious conditions such as sinus and ear infections. Due to blockage in the nose, snoring is also a very common result.

Treatment of your allergies varies according to severity. Prescription nasal steroid sprays decrease the allergic reaction and inflammation in the nose. Non-sedating antihistamines treat the body’s natural reaction when it comes in contact with an allergen by blocking histamine which causes swelling and congestion. Allergy injections or immunotherapy, are for patients with long-standing allergies, and may be identified through skin or blood tests. They gradually reduce symptoms and the need for medication. If you’re not sure what it is that is causing your allergic reaction, an allergist can identify your allergy. It is important to treat your symptoms because they can lead to more serious conditions, and if they are interfering with your breathing or sleeping, seek treatment with an ear, nose and throat specialist.  

Snoring: It’s in the Air that You Breathe

Using EPA air pollution data from a number of different American cities, researchers have established the first link between air pollution and both hypopnea (under breathing) and apnea (pauses in breathing) during sleep. Also studied was the affect that increases of temperature play on these sleeping disorders. Known as sleep disordered breathing (SDB), hypopnea and apnea can cause temporary elevations in blood pressure, lower blood oxygen levels, and can lead to high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.

In a study that will be published in the upcoming issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard School of Public Health have explored the effects of air pollution and temperature increases on sleep apnea and hypopnea episodes. Using data from the EPA monitoring air pollution levels in 7 U.S. cities (Framingham, Minneapolis, New York City, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Sacramento and Tucson), they studied it against data from the Sleep Heart Health Study of 6,000 people from 1995 to 1998.

The doctors were looking to find a correlation between “the elevation in ambient air pollution with an increased risk of SDB, nocturnal hypoxia and with reduced sleep quality,” as well as how “seasonal variations in temperature would exert an independent effect on SDB and sleep efficiency.” Using the data, and taking into account certain seasonal variables, they looked at known SDB factors including a patient’s age, gender and whether or not they smoke.

The results were that this is the first study to link air pollution and sleep disordered breathing. Antonella Zanobetti, Ph.D, a researcher on the project stated, ’We found novel evidence for pollution and temperature effects on sleep-disordered breathing.” They also found that increases in sleep apnea or hypopnea “were associated with increases in short-term temperature over all seasons, and with increases in particle pollution levels in the summer months." The short-term rises in temperature were associated with changes in respiratory disturbances, blood oxygen levels and decreases in sleep efficiency.

Sleep disordered breathing affects nearly 17 percent of the adults in the U.S., and many more aren’t aware they have a problem, since the episodes happen at night. If you feel you might suffer from a sleep apnea or hypopnea, because you’re experiencing some of the daytime symptoms, it is important to get treatment.

To get more information on how to treat sleep apnea or snoring disorder, contact The Manhattan Snoring and Sleep Apnea Center.