Winter brings another misery

This winter's heavy snow means that people with a common form of hay fever could get hammered worse than usual this spring.

The big melt has created high moisture levels, a key ingredient for mold growth both indoors and outdoors, said Dr. Linda Ford, an allergist in Papillion and Bellevue.

Remember those leaves you forgot to rake last fall? Mold is growing on them as they decay.

While pollen is the most frequent hay fever trigger, mold spores are generally more potent and can cause more severe symptoms.

“It is nasty stuff,” Ford said.

If you don't have hay fever, chances are someone in your family does. It's one of the most common allergic conditions, affecting one in five people, says the Mayo Clinic.

Some face a double threat: hay fever caused by both pollen and mold spores, said Dr. Jill Poole, an allergist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

That's the case with Stephanie Shook.

She said her scratchy throat and other symptoms grew worse over the past week. She thinks the melting snow and rain gave mold a boost. Any time it rains, she said, her symptoms get worse.

Summer is bad, too. She runs indoors whenever her husband mows the grass.

“I can't be outside because of all the stuff flying around,'' said Shook, who lives near Bellevue.

For those with minor hay fever problems, the symptoms are a nuisance. Those with severe cases can be miserable.

Watching a soccer game or grilling in the backyard can become a nonstop session of sneezing, nose wiping and sinus pressure.

Ford said she is already getting plenty of patients with those symptoms and others, such as itchy eyes.

Hay fever treatments include over-the-counter antihistamines, decongestants, steroid nasal sprays, saline nasal rinses, prescription medications or, in severe cases, allergy shots.

Saline rinses are particularly effective, but they should not be overused because they can remove natural protective barriers in nasal passages, Ford said.

Contact the writer: 444-1122, michael.oconnor@owh.com

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