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American Morning

Season Allergies Kicking In

Aired October 14, 2002 - 08:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Fall is here and along with it, a new phase of the problem of runny noses, itchy, watery eyes, all symptoms of seasonal allergies. As many as 30 percent of us suffer from seasonal allergies. So, what are the main allergens during the fall, and how can you treat them, and we have many more questions because joining us today for today's "House Call," CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen -- good morning.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Carol, this is a subject near and dear to my heart because I suffer from fall allergies, and I can tell you, a lot of people think there really aren't fall allergy. They think, Oh, allergies are in the spring when all the flowers are out and that kind of thing, but in fact, you can really have some pretty terrible allergies in the fall. Let's take a look at what some of the symptoms are of fall allergies. Of any allergies, really.

Itchy nose, eyes, and throat. Teary eyes, stuffy nose, and "machine gun" sneezing. Well, you might wonder what "machine gun" sneezing is, so I'm actually going to demonstrate it for you. It's -- it just keeps going. You don't stop. You don't take a breath. Before, actually, I got treatment for my allergies, I used to do 14, 15, 16 sneezes in a row without taking a breath in between.

COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh. How did you continue breathing?

COHEN: Well, it was tough. That's why I actually got some treatment for it, because it was not fun.

And in the fall, there are various things that people are allergic to. It can be ragweed, it can be sage or stitsel (ph), it can be mold, it can be dust mites, and those little dust mites can get into the heating system of your -- into the ducts of your house, and then when you turn the heat on, as we do during the fall, it just blasts those dust mites and the mold into your house. So, that is another reason why we have fall allergies -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. The age-old question, Elizabeth. How can you tell if you have allergies or you have a cold?

COHEN: Right. There are a couple of things that you can look for. We have a list for you.

First of all, when you have a cold, you feel sick for like three to five days, and then you get over it. When you have an allergy, you are sick for weeks, and so you start thinking, gee, this has gone on for too long. I ought to check it out. When you have a cold, you feel sick, you feel kind of achy, you might have a fever. When you have an allergy, you don't really feel sick, you just feel itchy. When you have a cold, you have this -- this is disgusting, I'm sorry to talk about this so early in the morning -- but you have thick mucus coming out of your nose. When you have allergies, it's very thin and you can see through it.

And doctors, you know, are trained to see the difference. When I first went to my doctor with a fall allergy, he just looked at me. I mean, that is really how he diagnosed me. He could just tell. There is a certain look around the eyes, there is a certain look around the nose. The doctors can tell that you probably have an allergy.

COSTELLO: So 30 percent of us have allergies, and the numbers are growing. Is there any way you can prevent yourself from becoming allergic to something like ragweed?

COHEN: Yes -- well, if you're going to be allergic to it, you are going to be allergic to it, but there are certain things that you can do to prevent it from really getting out of hand.

For example, what you can do is you can stay inside in the morning, in the early morning and the late afternoon, and that can help because that is when it is going to be the worst. Keep the windows closed in your house. I've found that helps quite a bit. Dust often. Keep a clean house. Clean your heating filters, because that where the dust mites and the molds can live, and wash your hair often. I had never heard of that -- I thought that was interesting. Apparently, your hair can act as a mop. So you go outside and your hair collects all this junk and pollen and ragweed and whatever in it and you sort of walk around with your hair, all day, obviously. If you wash it often, you can get rid of some of that.

COSTELLO: So a simple brushing won't do? You have to wash your hair?

COHEN: Yes, you really have got to wash your hair, absolutely.

COSTELLO: OK. Before we go, one quick question, Allegra or Claritin?

COHEN: Well, I have to be honest. Some of those drugs work beautifully for some people. I know some people swear by them, but for some people, they don't work at all. And so I think what is important to remember is that even though we see ads for allergy drugs all the time, they are not always going to work well. Sometimes you need to move on to something bigger, like a steroidal nose spray or even to shots. So that is what is important, just because you see ads for something does not mean it is going to work for you.

COSTELLO: OK. Thank you, Elizabeth. We won't...

COHEN: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: ... have you do that demonstration of the machine gun sneezing. That was amazing.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 14, 2002 - 08:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Fall is here and along with it, a new phase of the problem of runny noses, itchy, watery eyes, all symptoms of seasonal allergies. As many as 30 percent of us suffer from seasonal allergies. So, what are the main allergens during the fall, and how can you treat them, and we have many more questions because joining us today for today's "House Call," CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen -- good morning.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Carol, this is a subject near and dear to my heart because I suffer from fall allergies, and I can tell you, a lot of people think there really aren't fall allergy. They think, Oh, allergies are in the spring when all the flowers are out and that kind of thing, but in fact, you can really have some pretty terrible allergies in the fall. Let's take a look at what some of the symptoms are of fall allergies. Of any allergies, really.

Itchy nose, eyes, and throat. Teary eyes, stuffy nose, and "machine gun" sneezing. Well, you might wonder what "machine gun" sneezing is, so I'm actually going to demonstrate it for you. It's -- it just keeps going. You don't stop. You don't take a breath. Before, actually, I got treatment for my allergies, I used to do 14, 15, 16 sneezes in a row without taking a breath in between.

COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh. How did you continue breathing?

COHEN: Well, it was tough. That's why I actually got some treatment for it, because it was not fun.

And in the fall, there are various things that people are allergic to. It can be ragweed, it can be sage or stitsel (ph), it can be mold, it can be dust mites, and those little dust mites can get into the heating system of your -- into the ducts of your house, and then when you turn the heat on, as we do during the fall, it just blasts those dust mites and the mold into your house. So, that is another reason why we have fall allergies -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. The age-old question, Elizabeth. How can you tell if you have allergies or you have a cold?

COHEN: Right. There are a couple of things that you can look for. We have a list for you.

First of all, when you have a cold, you feel sick for like three to five days, and then you get over it. When you have an allergy, you are sick for weeks, and so you start thinking, gee, this has gone on for too long. I ought to check it out. When you have a cold, you feel sick, you feel kind of achy, you might have a fever. When you have an allergy, you don't really feel sick, you just feel itchy. When you have a cold, you have this -- this is disgusting, I'm sorry to talk about this so early in the morning -- but you have thick mucus coming out of your nose. When you have allergies, it's very thin and you can see through it.

And doctors, you know, are trained to see the difference. When I first went to my doctor with a fall allergy, he just looked at me. I mean, that is really how he diagnosed me. He could just tell. There is a certain look around the eyes, there is a certain look around the nose. The doctors can tell that you probably have an allergy.

COSTELLO: So 30 percent of us have allergies, and the numbers are growing. Is there any way you can prevent yourself from becoming allergic to something like ragweed?

COHEN: Yes -- well, if you're going to be allergic to it, you are going to be allergic to it, but there are certain things that you can do to prevent it from really getting out of hand.

For example, what you can do is you can stay inside in the morning, in the early morning and the late afternoon, and that can help because that is when it is going to be the worst. Keep the windows closed in your house. I've found that helps quite a bit. Dust often. Keep a clean house. Clean your heating filters, because that where the dust mites and the molds can live, and wash your hair often. I had never heard of that -- I thought that was interesting. Apparently, your hair can act as a mop. So you go outside and your hair collects all this junk and pollen and ragweed and whatever in it and you sort of walk around with your hair, all day, obviously. If you wash it often, you can get rid of some of that.

COSTELLO: So a simple brushing won't do? You have to wash your hair?

COHEN: Yes, you really have got to wash your hair, absolutely.

COSTELLO: OK. Before we go, one quick question, Allegra or Claritin?

COHEN: Well, I have to be honest. Some of those drugs work beautifully for some people. I know some people swear by them, but for some people, they don't work at all. And so I think what is important to remember is that even though we see ads for allergy drugs all the time, they are not always going to work well. Sometimes you need to move on to something bigger, like a steroidal nose spray or even to shots. So that is what is important, just because you see ads for something does not mean it is going to work for you.

COSTELLO: OK. Thank you, Elizabeth. We won't...

COHEN: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: ... have you do that demonstration of the machine gun sneezing. That was amazing.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com