If you have allergies and are planning a business or leisure trip, plan ahead. You could be entering a pollen-heavy area without knowing it. “…[T]Traveling to Allergy Capital™ [where allergens are high] should be a reminder to allergy sufferers to manage allergy symptoms by planning ahead,” says Derek Johnson, MD, an allergist at Temple University Medical Center and a medical advisor to the AAFA. “Have a personal action plan Allergy Management can help allergy sufferers prevent becoming inflamed and understand how to treat symptoms when needed.”
1. If you’re traveling to the US, check out the Top 50 Allergy Capitals™ in the US here: [http://www.allergypreventioncenter.com/news2003/top50allergycapitals.html] .
Included among them are some of the most popular destinations for business or pleasure, including Orlando, New York City, New Orleans, Chicago, Washington, DC, Denver, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
2. Visit http://www.pollen.com to see what the pollen count is where you plan to visit and http://www.aaaai.org/nab/index.cfm?p=pollen to get pollen. and mold count in the US and Canada.
At http://www.pollen.com/Pollen.com.asp, you can sign up to receive email alerts in the morning when conditions in your city or those you frequently travel to exceed the trigger point that causes Most people with allergies have symptoms.
3. The European Pollen Calendar http://www.hon.ch/Library/Theme/Allergy/Glossary/euro.html presents data collected from 200 pollen stations across Europe.
Tree data includes alder, hazel, birch, ash, olive, plane, and cypress. Weed data come from observations of ragweed, sagebrush, fur and nettles. According to the site, “grass pollen is the most important allergen in Europe. As cross-reactivity is extremely high among almost all grasses, for the grass pollen-sensitive patient it does not matter which grass pollen they inhale.”
And, they add, “only cultivated rye pollen has greater allergenicity than wild grass pollen.”
4. http://www.hon.ch/Library/Theme/Allergy/Glossary/asia.html The pollen calendar for North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia provides pollen information and interesting facts.
For example, if you’re planning a trip to Japan, you may want to know that Japanese cedar pollen, which is one of the most potent pollens known and causes severe symptoms, is present from about the end of January to the beginning of April. the North Island and from mid-April to early May on the South Island.
5. Food allergies are not related to location, but can cause serious reactions, and food and pollen can cross-react.
Here [http://www.wfaa.com/weather/allergy/allergy7.html] is a table of cross-reacting foods. For example, if you are sensitive to ragweed, when it is pollinating you should avoid eggs, milk, bananas, and lettuce.
6. Dust, mold and mildew can be present anywhere and at any time.
According to the site above, if you are allergic to dust you should avoid shellfish, nuts and peanut butter, and if you are allergic to mold and mildew you should avoid dairy products, vinegars, alcoholic beverages, mushrooms, yeast and sugar. Some of the information on this site is provided by the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
7. Anaphylactic shock can occur as a result of eating food or things like a bee sting.
The tricky thing about food allergies is that they can appear ‘out of the blue’. You may be eating lobster one day and suddenly experience shortness of breath, itching, swelling of the lips and throat, drop in blood pressure, and finally collapse. Anaphylactic shock can be fatal. Symptoms can start right away, or up to a few hours later.
If you’ve ever had anaphylactic shock, your doctor has probably told you to carry injectable epinephrine with you and to keep some at home as well.
If these symptoms occur, seek immediate medical attention. Some people experience this with bee stings.
8. Pay attention to your accommodations. Check things before you book your room and change rooms or accommodations if necessary.
Avoid moldy rooms and don’t take a smoking room. If wall units bother you, make sure your accommodations have central heating and air conditioning. See what that comforter is made of before diving under the covers at that quaint bed and breakfast, and make sure places have central air conditioning and heating if wall units and forced heating bother your allergies.
Also look for scented candles, new carpeting, ammonia, Clorox, deodorants, and perfumes.
Consult with your personal health professional to obtain a plan for your particular situation.
