Newsletter Spring 2004

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• Help for Allergy and Asthma Sufferers
• Drug-Eluting Stents: New Treatment for Corornary Artery Disease
• PDF Version
  

Help For Allergy and Asthma Sufferers

Last May, Lynette Hair did the unthinkable. She rode horses in the countryside of Southern California at a family reunion. Allergic to dust, oak, and pollens (not to mention cats, of which she has three!) Lynette’s allergies were so severe that they usually kept her indoors while the rest of her family was outside. “I couldn’t enjoy spring,” recalls Lynette. “I couldn’t even go outside. I have a flower garden and I couldn’t even be outside to enjoy the flowers.”

Much less ride a horse in the country in the springtime.

Lynette is not alone. More than 50 million Americans suffer from some type of allergic disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“The most common allergic disease is hay fever,” says board certified allergist Bradley Cromar, M.D. “Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, affects about 30 to 35 percent of the population.”

Hay fever is the name given to pollen allergies. The pollens are airborne, as are other allergic triggers such as mold, dust mites, and animal dander. Common allergic symptoms include sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, coughing, postnasal drip, itching eyes nose and throat, and watery eyes.

There are a number of over-the-counter and prescription medications to treat symptoms, including antihistamines, nasal steroids, and decongestants Most medications are for short-term relief only.

Lynette had tried a variety of over-the-counter and prescription medications to cope with the symptoms. “I felt drugged,” she says, “and I didn’t like that feeling.”

Finally her husband, radio news director Steve Hair, encouraged her to see Dr. Cromar, who he had interviewed on the radio. “My husband said I had suffered too long, and that I needed to do something. I figured I was doomed to suffer forever. Thank heavens I listened to him.”

Lynette underwent skin testing, where a variety of substances are introduced to the skin to see which cause an allergic reaction.

After discovering the culprits of Lynette’s allergic reactions, Dr. Cromar started her on desensitization shots. “Allergy shots are the treatment that are helpful to about 85 percent of the people who have severe allergies,” says Dr. Cromar. “Shots change the way your body handles the pollens.”

Desensitization shots, also called immunotherapy, inject doses of the substance to which you’re allergic, into the skin of your arm. The purpose is to make the immune system less sensitive to the allergen through the production of a blocking antibody, which decreases allergy symptoms if the allergen is encountered in the future. Most people undergo therapy for five or six years. Some people will need to continue for the rest of their lives.

For Lynette, the process has changed her life. “It’s like a miracle. I don’t need any medication now. I can actually go outside and play with my grandson, and not have to suffer. It’s one of the best things I’ve done for myself.”