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" One day, Kathleen Shaputis&amp;#039;s nose started running\u2014and it wouldn&amp;#039;t stop. At first she thought she had a cold. Then, when the sniffling and dripping got more annoying, she went to the doctor. To her surprise, Shaputis found out she was allergic to mold and to the trees in her Olympia, WA, area. &amp;quot;I was 55!&amp;quot; says Shaputis, now 59. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;d had some mild allergy symptoms before, but nothing like that.&amp;quot; Join the sneezers: The number of people with seasonal allergies has increased dramatically over the past 30 to 40 years\u2014by some estimates, it&amp;#039;s more than doubled\u2014and, like Shaputis, many are being hit for the first time in midlife. &amp;quot;I see a big bubble of new patients between 35 and 55,&amp;quot; says Clifford W. Bassett, M.D., medical director of Allergy &amp;amp;amp; Asthma Care of New York. If you find yourself among les mis\u00E9rables, grab a tissue (for the softest choices, see page 103), then learn here what else can help wipe away your symptoms. A Loooong Season Plugged noses, itchy eyes, skin rashes, difficulty breathing\u2014allergy symptoms are caused by the immune system&amp;#039;s mistaking a normally harmless substance (like dust) for a threatening one, then releasing a cascade of histamine and other chemicals in self-defense. While you&amp;#039;re born with the propensity to develop the problem\u2014by one estimate, about half the population tests positive to at least one allergen\u2014the severity of your body&amp;#039;s reaction (or chance it will react at all) can be influenced by other factors. Chief among them is climbing pollen levels: Global warming, which has led to longer growing seasons, can put plants into pollen overdrive. In recent years, the spring allergy season has started two to three weeks earlier, and fall&amp;#039;s has ended up to four weeks later. Plus, many cities have added to the problem by favoring male plants over female ones; though male plants (unlike some of their human counterparts) are tidier\u2014no sidewalk-staining berries and messy seedpods\u2014they do produce lots of pollen. And pollen overproduction can worsen other allergies. &amp;quot;You can have reactions to indoor things like pet dander and mold, yet still be relatively asymptomatic for most of the year. But when pollen season comes along, it becomes more than your system can accommodate,&amp;quot; explains Robert Reinhardt, M.D., a U.S. medical director in immunodiagnostics at a lab equipment company. The result: You become more reactive to everything. Beyond pollen, some experts blame our obsession with cleanliness for the rise in allergies. Early contact with microbes seems to prime the immune system to tolerate allergens, but in our increasingly sanitary world, children often miss this &amp;quot;opportunity.&amp;quot; This &amp;quot;hygiene hypothesis&amp;quot; is still just a theory, but last year, Australian researchers found that children exposed to pets prenatally and in the first month of life had fewer allergies. Evidence has been strongest for dogs, but a recent study shows that cats may be protective as well. Flicking a Switch New allergies can also be set off by changes later in life. Shortly after giving birth to her first child at age 36, Beth Dornan of Rockford, MI, developed a string of sinus infections that were triggered, she later discovered, by seasonal allergies she&amp;#039;d never experienced before. The only thing in her life that had changed (she lived in the same house, had the same dog) was the birth of her daughter. &amp;quot;If you have an underlying genetic predisposition for an allergy, something can throw a switch on it,&amp;quot; says James Sublett, M.D., of the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky. &amp;quot;It may be a viral infection, a new environment\u2014or, yes, hormonal changes due to pregnancy or menopause.&amp;quot; The good news: The same physiological changes can sometimes turn off the allergy switch, too.  True Tests Treating your sniffling self with over-the-counter antihistamines may be enough. But if it&amp;#039;s not, tests can zero in on what&amp;#039;s causing your symptoms and help your doctor prescribe a more effective medication. Tests can also clue you in on what to avoid\u2014&amp;quot;which may allow you to stop a medication altogether or at least take less of it,&amp;quot; says Dr. Reinhardt. What you learn from the tests may surprise you. Nikki Wheeler of Denver thought her doctor was being ridiculous when he said she was allergic to the cat she&amp;#039;d had for 10 years. Yet, when she laundered her bedding and kicked her cat out of the bedroom for just one night, she felt better right away. Even in this high-tech age, skin-prick tests, in which doctors lightly puncture your skin and then expose it to tiny amounts of allergens such as ragweed and dander, are still considered the most accurate. If those aren&amp;#039;t feasible (certain medications, for instance, can interfere with the findings), a doctor may use blood tests, which may be less sensitive. Stay away from the allergy test kits sold in drugstores and online, which you do at home and send to a lab: Their misleading results may have you complicating your life or sacrificing favorite foods unnecessarily, warns the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma &amp;amp;amp; Immunology. A doctor will consider your medical history, symptoms, and environment before testing for specific allergens. DIY Relief &amp;quot;Avoidance&amp;quot; is an allergist&amp;#039;s favorite word. If you are allergic to dust mites, try covering pillows and mattresses with special cases to help keep them away. Dust regularly (while wearing a mask over your mouth and nose), and vacuum with a machine that has a HEPA filter to help ward off dust allergies. You can even reduce your exposure to pollen, especially when the counts are particularly high (download an app that gives you local info; pollen.com is a good one). Some steps to take on high-pollen days: EXERCISE IN THE A.M., when pollen counts may be the lowest. Or, work out indoors during allergy season. KEEP OUTDOOR CLOTHES out of your bedroom. WEAR OVERSIZE SUNGLASSES and put on a hat with a wide brim. CLEANSE YOUR EYELIDS with a gentle baby shampoo to remove allergens. Before bed, shower and wash your hair. &amp;quot;Otherwise you&amp;#039;ll be sleeping in a pollen microenvironment,&amp;quot; says Dr. Reinhardt. USE AIR-CONDITIONING in both your car and your home to keep out pollen as well as slow down the growth of dust mites in warmer months. Change the filters often. AVOID FRUITS AND VEGETABLES that make your mouth tingle or your throat itch. This odd phenomenon, known as oral allergy syndrome, affects as many as a third of seasonal-allergy sufferers. &amp;quot;If you have tree, weed, or grass pollen allergies, you can experience symptoms in the mouth and throat due to a cross-reaction between the proteins in produce and the pollens,&amp;quot; explains Dr. Bassett. Ragweed allergies can make you sensitive to cucumber, zucchini, and bananas, among other fruits, while grass allergies can trigger reactions to melons, oranges, and tomatoes. Apples, pears, kiwis, carrots, stone fruit, celery, almonds, and hazelnuts can cause problems for those who are allergic to tree pollens. A Med for All Seasons There are pills from Allegra to Zyrtec, and it can take trial and error to find one that helps. But if none seem to work, tell your doctor; he or she can prescribe medications, among them prescription antihistamines (for deflecting the immune response), decongestants (for unstuffing your nose), and nasal steroid sprays (for decreasing inflammation). Because most seasonal allergies are just that\u2014seasonal\u2014you can also use meds to head off symptoms. It may be too late for this year, but if you suffer from spring allergies, you can begin using nasal sprays, eye drops, and antihistamines a week or two ahead of when &amp;quot;your&amp;quot; allergen arrives, or at the first sign of symptoms, and you&amp;#039;ll feel better at the height of the season. If you&amp;#039;re treating allergy symptoms with antihistamines and not getting any relief, you might require a combination of meds. Or you may not have an allergy at all. It&amp;#039;s normal to develop symptoms like a drippy nose and congested sinuses when confronted with strong scents, cold air, smoke, spicy foods, or other ordinary irritants. &amp;quot;But some people have an exaggerated reaction called nonallergic (or vasomotor) rhinitis,&amp;quot; says Dr. Sublett. Because it doesn&amp;#039;t involve a true allergic response, an antihistamine like Benadryl or Claritin probably won&amp;#039;t stop the drip. Over-the-counter nasal sprays that contain oxymetazoline or phenylephrine may be more effective options, but use them no longer than three days so as to avoid rebound congestion\u2014otherwise, your nose will be even more stuffed up. If you still need relief, a doctor can prescribe nasal sprays that contain steroids or a combo of ingredients. Many sufferers can benefit from immunotherapy\u2014better known as allergy shots\u2014in which you&amp;#039;re given gradually increasing doses of your allergens in order to make your system more tolerant. The shots, which help people who are allergic to dust mites, cats, dogs, molds, pollens, and stinging insects\u2014everything but food triggers\u2014may be given in clusters, a new approach. Then they&amp;#039;re tapered down to once-monthly injections, and after a few years, you&amp;#039;re completely done. Going Natural After Dana Morton&amp;#039;s childhood allergies came back with a vengeance when she was 50, she turned to acupuncture to combat her reaction to the sage, cedar, and oak trees near her Sonora, CA, home. What she discovered was similar to what German researchers found in a new study: Acupuncture treatments reduced both symptoms and reliance on antihistamines\u2014but not for long. In the study, improvement vanished within two months. To Morton&amp;#039;s relief, allergy shots now are doing the trick. Compelled by a doctor&amp;#039;s recommendation that she have surgery to relieve sinus pressure, Christina Latella of Schenectady, NY, tried a natural nasal spray containing capsaicin, horseradish, and wintergreen. She&amp;#039;s never been better. While studies looking at capsaicin have been mixed, Latella&amp;#039;s experience suggests\u2014and Dr. Sublett agrees\u2014that it&amp;#039;s worth a try. That&amp;#039;s the case for allergy treatments generally. Nature may be presenting greater challenges, and new troublemakers (phones?! ticks?!) may be gaining recognition, but we also have more and more tools to fight back. &amp;quot;In recent years, the spring allergy season has started two to three weeks earlier &amp;quot; THE &amp;quot;MEAT ALLERGY&amp;quot; TICK New research shows that a bite from the common Lone Star tick (of the southern and central U.S.) can lead to an allergy to red meat\u2014seriously. In those affected, red meat can trigger symptoms ranging from hives to potentially deadly shock. If you&amp;#039;ve had a reaction after eating a hamburger, pork chop, or lamb kabob (symptoms typically start in 3 to 6 hours), special tests can reveal whether you need to change your menu. &amp;quot;If you have ragweed allergies, you might also be sensitive to bananas or even zucchini&amp;quot; Ragweed Season Is Getting Longer In the five cities here, it&amp;#039;s now lasting almost two weeks to nearly a month longer (2011 versus 1995). Why? As the climate warms, plants have more days to flower and shed pollen + 26 days SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN + 24 days FARGO, ND + 14 days LA CROSSE, WI + 13 days MADISON, WI + 12 days PAPILLION, NE &amp;quot;Skip home allergy tests. Their results may be misleading&amp;quot; WHEN SPICE IS NOT NICEA small but growing number of people are allergic to spices, including those used in cosmetics. While there are hundreds that can cause symptoms, cinnamon and garlic top the list; vanilla and pepper can also be problematic. Clues you may belong to this group: Your body reacts (hives, itching, even trouble breathing) shortly after eating a certain dish in one restaurant (say, beef chili), but not in another (who knew the chef&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;secret ingredient&amp;quot; was cinnamon?). Or it may be that you develop symptoms after eating a packaged item from one company but not one from its competitor. Let your doctor know. iPhone vs. BlackBerry Even allergists are getting in on this debate. When a group from Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, NY, tested 72 cell phones, they found that models with keys (including BlackBerrys and flip phones) contained nickel, cobalt, or both. When the keys wore down, users were exposed to the metal\u2014and could develop an itchy rash. iPhones and Android smartphones had neither metal. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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