Allergy season hits early, often locallyWritten by Brad Buck | The Free Press
Photos by Karen Lanier & Brad Buck | The Free Press Every day, Candace Sandoval leaves her home and walks right between two juniper trees.
That’s an allergic reaction waiting to happen. And that’s what Sandoval suffers.
“I feel like my head is (inflating) like a balloon,” said the Santa Fe mother. “The pressure is the most uncomfortable. It’s really debilitating for me.”
In addition to a stuffy nose, Sandoval sneezes about five to 10 times a day and sometimes loses her equilibrium. She copes with it mostly just by suffering. “I try to just deal with it,” Sandoval said.
There’s not much anyone can do to deal with allergies. There are over-the-counter medications such as Claritin, Sudafed, Nasonex and Benadryl. Doctors can write you a prescription. There are even allergy shots. But most people cope in their own ways.
Allergy season hit early and often this year, with many people sneezing, coughing and suffering stuffy noses as early as late January or early February, experts say. Pollen counts have jumped from about 3.0 to 7.5 in the past two weeks, making it “medium high,” according to www.pollen.com.
Allergy season will be with us until the first frost, usually in October. Juniper is the main allergy causing agent this time of year, experts say.
Dr. Mark Schuyler, an allergist at the University of New Mexico, said allergy sufferers should avoid walks through juniper forests. While that may sound obvious, he said: “People sometimes do strange things.” He cited the millions of people who choose to adopt or buy cats, even though they’re allergic to felines.
Sometimes, over-the-counter medications like Benadryl are effective in treating allergies, but those drugs also can cause drowsiness or even increased nerves, Schuyler said.
Allergy sufferers should consult their primary care physician. If prescriptions do not help, the doctor will refer the patient to an allergist, he said.
At this point in allergy season, can we prevent them? “This time of year, there’s not much you can do,” Schuyler said. You should wash your clothes, which sounds obvious. But the sooner you wash them after going outside, the faster you rid clothes of air-borne allergens.
Injections can help prevent allergic reactions, but they require a big commitment on the patient’s part, Schuyler said — twice a week for three months.
Wes Watkins, a chiropractor and integral wellness coach, said many of his patients started complaining of typical allergy symptoms early last month.
“The proverbial ounce of prevention is always preferable to pounding the cure,” Watkins said. But it’s a little late to try to prevent allergies at this point, he said.
An alternative approach such as acupuncture, which Watkins espouses, may provide effective treatment and long-lasting relief.
Santa Fe-area pollens are difficult to avoid without shutting yourself into sealed buildings and wearing respiratory face masks, he said. In addition, humidifiers can reduce pollens in your home. Yes, there are pollens flying around in your home, just not nearly as many as there are outside, Watkins said.
“With a bit of due diligence, we can optimize our body’s natural protective responses and minimize the annoying inconvenience of the ‘pollen challenge,’” he said. Contact Brad Buck at
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