Kaiser Permanente physician explains how to get ready and minimize the misery. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology has declared May Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month. Spring, with all its airborne pollen, is the cruelest season for asthma and allergy sufferers. Doctors say taking action before allergies hit can prevent a bad attack, or at least reduce the severity of symptoms.
Physicians suggest a number of steps to keep hay fever from knocking people out of commission.
It pays to prepare in advance. First, learn what sets you off. If pollinating oak trees give you hay fever, don't go picnicking under an oak in the spring. In Atlanta, blooming trees such as oak, sweet gum, birch, and mulberry, make a particularly wicked pollen that looks like a yellow cloud in a strong gust of wind. Many people with hay fever have only mild reactions to house dust or the family cat throughout most of the year.