LATE SPRING, CHEMICALS IRRITATING ALLERGIES

As her neighbors emerge from their homes from a long, cold winter to cultivate their flower gardens, mow the grass and plant vegetables, Scott City resident Christina Kolze has to avoid many of spring's pleasures.

No sniffing the lilacs. No working in the yard. She is an allergy sufferer.

"Despite the beautiful weather, there is no way I could have a job that required me to be outdoors," said Kolze. "I really can't be outside for any time at all, especially around weeds or grass. On windy days, it is especially bad."

With weather getting warmer and dryer, pollen counts in Southeast Missouri have skyrocketed. Thursday's level of 257 particles in one cubic meter of air is well above the 160 particles considered high by medical standards, and residents are feeling it.

Doctors' offices busy

Cape Girardeau allergy doctors have also noticed the change. For two weeks they have been fielding a rising number of phone calls and appointments from people suffering from the common ailments: sinus headaches, congestion, runny noses, sneezing and watery eyes. Dr. Robert Sacha, a Cape Girardeau allergy specialist whose business has increased 25 percent over the last month, said the warm and windy weather is awakening his patients' allergies.

"There are big seasonal allergy peaks, and this is definitely one of them," he said. "When the weather changes and there's so much pollen in the air, it's a perfect mix for allergy problems."

The late coming of spring hasn't helped. After March's cold spell ended oak, ash and box cedar trees and various grasses produced pollen at the same time.

"This is pretty abnormal," said Dr. Janna Tuck, a Cape Girardeau allergy specialist. "Trees usually stop pollinating in mid-May, and then the grass takes over, but the trees couldn't begin until April because of the cold weather. Now it's all happening at once."

Allergy zone

Even without a long winter, Southeast Missouri is home to some of the worst allergy-causing agents in the country, Sacha said. He attributes this to the region's location on the Mississippi River and chemical agents area farmers use to grow crops. In addition, the area is also unusual in that it attracts pollen and mold from both the eastern farming plains and the southern coast.

Shawneetown resident Ann Johnston can identify with the double whammy of allergy problems encountered in the region. Having lived in Central Illinois for a long time, she moved to the area and in less than a year's time began to realize her allergies had gotten much worse.

"I knew I suffered from allergies but never to the severity I have experienced here," Johnston said.

Drugs help

Sacha recommends his patients avoid going outside early in the morning when more pollen is in the air. He also suggests using a prescription intranasal steroid for breathing problems and a non-sedating antihistamine to control sneezing.

There are a host of drugs that can be used to help sufferers deal with their allergy problems.

Johnston prefers Allegra for her allergies, while a co-worker prefers Clariton, and Kolze said she sticks to over-the-counter products.

No matter what their drug of choice is, they are all seeking ways to deal with the inevitable.

"It's spring and people want to go outside," Sacha said. "While that rush to leave the house after winter causes allergy problems, people have to live their lives. They just need to be prepared."

Allergies or no allergies, Cape Girardeau resident Heather Foreman doesn't avoid going outdoors. Although her most common problems include sinus headaches and congestion, she is resolved to not being trapped indoors.

"I just suffer through it," Foreman said as she watched the waves from a barge splash against the river bank.