POLLEN PRESSURE
Marin allergists and patients gird for peak season
Another dry spring might intensify the advance of Marin's allergy season.
Local allergists are starting to see patients complaining of reactions to seasonal allergens, although they have different estimates on whether this allergy season is diverging from previous years.
Dr. Marty Rossman, a Greenbrae physician and acupuncturist, said he isn't seeing as many allergy complaints as expected this year. He said that might be because many people are still wearing masks as a coronavirus shield.
“We have seen a lot less in terms of colds and other respiratory infections besides COVID-19 these last two years,” Rossman said. “I think to some degree, that's showing in the allergy season.”
However, Dr. Schuman Tam, an allergist at MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae, said he thinks this year is “getting unusually worse” for more patients suffering seasonal allergy reactions such as dry and itchy eyes, runny noses and sneezing.
Tam said more urgent appointments for treatment are being booked at his office than he expected, especially in the past week.
“I'm starting to see people with pollen-induced asthma,” Tam said. “We usually don't see that unless pollen is especially high.”
Tam said he thinks grass pollen might be circulating earlier than usual, along with pollen from trees blooming since January.
Marin's traditional hay fever season extends from midJanuary into July. Juniper and
“I'm starting to see people with pollen-induced asthma. We usually don't see that unless pollen is especially high.”
— Dr. Schuman Tam, MarinHealth Medical Center
oak are the primary irritants for residents, as well as birch to a lesser extent, Rossman said.
Marin botanist Brittany Burnett said climate change is extending the blooming period, thereby increasing the pollen load.
“The drought puts plants under stressful reproduction pressure, so more energy is being put into pollen production,” Burnett said.
Many patients are expected to suffer from asthma induced by allergies. Rossman said he prescribes supplements and acupuncture to patients before the allergy season to cut down on irritation, and recommends natural remedies like freezedried stinging nettles during the spring bloom.
“The approach I recommend is that you use nasal saline … a couple of times a day, so that you don't leave pollen sitting on your nasal membrane all day,” Rossman said.
Tam said that for those experiencing stronger reactions to allergens, over-thecounter medications like Flonase and eye drops can help treat symptoms like a runny nose or watery eyes.
The doctors said non-sedating antihistamines such as loratadine, fexofenadine, cetirizine or levocetirizine, or nasal steroids, are preferred for people with more severe allergies.
They discouraged using medications like diphenhydramine, found in drugs such as Benadryl. These drugs can affect concentration and the ability to operate machinery, and for seniors, can lead to dementia and a higher risk of falls, Tam said.
Some patients seek longterm treatment to cut out prescribed drugs. Oakland resident Maaria Husain, a former Mill Valley resident, comes to Tam's office to get allergy shots once a month. She said she has suffered from seasonal allergies for most of her life, including experiencing severe reactions like her eyes nearly swelling shut.
“About five years ago, I went to Dr. Tam and got a consultation, and they said I was the perfect candidate for allergy shots,” Husain said.
“I have to say it's made a huge impact on my allergies. They're really low grade if I get them now. I don't suffer at the same level I used to.”
To compare the current year's trends to previous years, local allergists count patients served and compare to rates reported at regional pollen counters operated by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Rossman said he thinks pollen counts are going to keep rising in the next month, and as people take their masks off outside, “we'll probably be seeing more allergies.”