Dr. Peppercorn featured as allergy expert in news story about allergy season on front page of Appeal-Democrat Newspaper.

Ah-choo! Allergy season is here

By Daniel Witter/Appeal-Democrat

Sometimes you can hear it all the way across a noisy office - a loud sneeze. It's not one of those cold or flu sneezes. It's one of those launched right out of allergy season.

Spring may be a lovely time of year to witness the rebirth of life - fruit trees in blossom and flowers sprouting after a long winter - but spring can be a nasal nightmare for a person with allergies.

Dr. Robert Peppercorn, a Yuba City allergy doctor and dermatologist, says he has seen the inevitable increase in patient visits for this time of the year.

“It's best to be indoors as much as possible, keep windows closed and turn on the air conditioner,” Peppercorn advised. He also recommended that allergy sufferers use Hepa air filters to screen out pollen.

About 20 percent of the nation's population suffers allergies, Peppercorn said. These kinds of allergies are hereditary, he said. They come in two forms - seasonal and year-round.

Seasonal allergies usually start in February as fruit trees blossom. In March, April and May, grass pollen kicks in; and weeds release their pollen near summer's end.

Pollen enters the respiratory system and the person develops antibodies to fight it off, said Peppercorn. In the process, nasal and respiratory passages swell, noses run, eyes get watery and sneezing starts.

Peppercorn himself suffers from allergies, so he knows what his patients suffer. He started getting medication for his allergies at age 5. It was an important reason why he became a doctor, he said.

Adults between 25 to 35 years old are often hit hard with allergies, he said.

“That's when they have the peak of their allergies,” he said. As a person's immunity system weakens with age, the symptoms people experience may become less severe, he said.

Over-the-counter medications such as Claritin and Allegra can make life less runny.

“These are things that can give a lot of relief to people,” Peppercorn said. There are also antihistamine inhalants. More serious cases may require a doctor's visit and testing to see what a person is allergic to.

Hieng Tang, a pharmacist at Safesave Pharmacy in Yuba City, said he has more customers looking for allergy medicines these days.

“We sell a little more over-the-counter medicines,” he said. He sees the symptoms: the watery eyes, the sneezing and itchiness.

He refers them to the other-the-counter products first.

“If that doesn't work, try the next step - chlorpheniramine,” he said. “It's an antihistamine.”

People have different levels of allergies, and each person will react a little differently to medicines, he said.

Appeal-Democrat reporter Daniel Witter can be reached at 749-4712. You may e-mail him at dwitter@appeal-democrat.com.

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