Have itchy eyes? A cough? Feeling fatigued?
These unpleasant symptoms can be tell-tale signs of allergies, which vary in severity from mere annoyance to life-threatening.
May is National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month and allergists say it is the perfect time to raise awareness of these conditions that often go ignored by those who carry them.
Dr. Fred Mudawwar is part of Allergy & Immunology Associates of New England and works in AIANE’s Greenfield office on Riddell Street on Wednesdays. He said the most common environmental allergies tend to be dustmites, pollen and pets, while the most common food allergies are typically nuts, peanuts, shellfish, milk, wheat and eggs. Consumption of a food allergen, Mudawwar said, can result in hives, difficulty breathing, an unusual sensation in the throat, or even a coma.
He said recent studies show that children with food allergies can build an immunity if exposed to their allergens in small, careful amounts in their early years.
Mudawwar said anyone experiencing miserable symptoms should see an allergist. He said the frequency with which his patients visit him varies on the individual, though people allergic to trees should go to an allergist at least once every spring.
He said he went into allergy medicine in the 1970s, before it considered a legitimate speciality. He said he picked the speciality because he was interested in the immune system.
“We know far more now than we did back then,” he said. “We’ve made a lot of advances.”
Mudawwar said asthma, like food allergies, can be extremely dangerous if not properly monitored.
Dr. Jonathan Bayuk works in AIANE’s Northampton office and explained an allergy is a non-infectious reaction to a harmless trigger. He said National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month is a great way to get allergies into the national spotlight once a year, but allergies are a yearlong problem.
He said allergies are broken down into four categories: food, seasonal, asthma and eczema, which is a skin condition. He said living in the Pioneer Valley does not help those suffering from pollen allergies, as prevailing winds don’t always blow the pollen out of the valley’s bowl shape.
Bayuk, who coaches youth sports and deals with children with allergies in that capacity, said 8 to 10 percent of the country (or 30 million people) have food allergies. He also said 9 percent of people in Massachusetts have asthma.
Bayuk, like Mudawwar, said there have been great strides in allergy treatments, such as antihistamines and over-the-counter sprays.
“The days of a boy looking out the window watching his friends play stickball are over,” he said.
Mudawwar said he often recommends Zyrtec, Allegra or Claritin because they do not cause drowsiness. He said he tries to steer away from systemic steroids because they carry side effects.
Dr. Vanessa Van Stee works at AIANE’s Greenfield office on Tuesdays.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 257. On Twitter, follow @DomenicPoli