Evening star., 1944-08-06
'RunningAway'Ca CaIIet
Best Treatment Yet
For Hay Fever
By HOWARD w. BLAKESLEE,
Associated Press sci.ne. Editor.

NEW YORK, August 5.-Two New
York doctors, A. P. Sperling and A..
b. Berresford, who have just pub
lished q book, Know Your Hay
Fever" are leaving New York in
mid-August to escape the pollens-
running away is still the best rem
edy for hay fever.
Second best is the incubation Of
the offending pollens, If you can
identify them. The book says 10
per cent Of those taking inoctla-
tions build up enough tolerance to
lose their sensitiyity in 3 to 20 years.
The other 80 per cent take the
pollen treatments yearly, with vary
ing relief.
There are other remedies, none
adopted widely. Dr.. Harry N.
Holmes and Wyvona Alexander OF
Oberlin College, tried heavy doses
of vitamin c and reported relief
for 88 per cent of the sufferers.
DR.. Myron Metzenbaum OF Cleve-
land, injected alcohol into the In
terror nasal turbinate bodies Ae
reported this desensitized the nose
against pollens and other hay fever
agents for periods ranging from a
few weeks to one year.
Legend Based on Truth.
The legend of eating clover honey
In the spring and ragweed leaves
in the summer for hay fever relief
was investigated at the allergy clinic
of the University Hospitals OF Cleve-
land. Some sufferers there ate
pollen and got some relief, a proof
that the legend was based on truth.
But the pollen eating was not as
effective as incubation.
These pollens are nearly inde-
structible; they have been found
preserved in coal $50 million years
old. Altitude is no protection
against them; some grow at high
attitudes and they float in the air.
Clouds of pollen have been reported
$50 miles at sea and at 5000 feet
altitude.
A single giant ragweed plant, one
of the principal offenders, produces
100000 pollen grains per square
foot of surface. 1t Is estimated
that Is grains per cubic yard of air
is enough to infect hay fever sus-
ceptible person. 100000 persons per
plant
Hay fever runs the year round,
but it is credited to midsummer be-
cause of the majority OF cases are
caused by the pollens Of four fam
flies of plants: ragweed, timothy,
redroot pigweed and sagebrush.
There are q great many other ir-
ritants. Cedar trees cause some
winter outbreaks Molds or fungi
are a rather recently recognized
source. DR.. Marie B. Morrow, of the
University of Texas, has Identified
scores of species of molds from
Boston and Chicago to Galveston,
Tex, floating in the air up to the
height at least of tall buildings.
Physicians have identified cases of
hay fever due to many Of these
molds.
Need Only Four Remedies.
The Lederle Laboratories pub
lished a report this year that the
big four of the hay fever producers,
ragweed. pig weed, timothy and
sage, produce pollens which require
only four remedies. These. remedies
are the pollen antigens for inocula-
tion. There are great many spe-
cies of plants in this big four, with
many varied forms of pollen, but
according to the Lederle work, each
of the four makes only one basic
irrital1t for hay fever, the same from
each variety of pollen.
Why the irritants produce hay fe-
yer is not known, although some OF
the steps in the disease are identi-
fed. There is, first, the hay fever
personality. DR.. Buenaventura Jim
inez, at the University of Michigan,
found that the students subject to
hay fever stood to 10 per cent
higher scholastically than their un-
afflicted fellows. He got his tip
from noting the high incidence of
hay fever among Phi Beta Kappas.
This hay fever personality was de-
scribed further by DR.. John Stokes
of Philadelphia, as a person with
feelings of insecurity and inferior
ity, driving energy, refusal to COM
promise, higher than average intel
ligence and continual tension.
DR.. Sperling, however, finds no
evidence for hay fever PERSONAL
ity. His studies were made on 985
City College of New York students,
231 of them with hay fever.
Microscopes have shown some
fearful jagged shapes among the
hay fever pollens, and some stream