(Press-News.org) ATLANTA, GA (November 7, 2014) - Last year's long, harsh winter was brutal, and caused some experts to predict the "polar vortex" would turn into the "pollen vortex," and make allergy sufferers more miserable than ever before. But the "pollen vortex" didn't happen - at least not everywhere.
According to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, the spring pollen count in Ontario, Canada was not higher than usual, and in fact, was down considerably - and far lower than at any other time in the previous 12 years.
"Our results showed the reported pollen burst failed to materialize last spring," said aerobiologist James Anderson, MLT, lead study author. "Specifically, pollen levels of maple, juniper, birch, ash, mulberry and walnut were as much as four to five times lower than the average. The other tree pollen counts were within normal range."
Anderson and his team measured pollen counts in London, Ontario and found that the total tree pollen counts were at historic lows for that region.
"People think every allergy season is the worst," said allergist Stanley Fineman, ACAAI past-president. "We found in Atlanta that the counts were actually higher in 2013 than 2014. But we also found the number of days the counts were very high was greater in 2014. The most important thing in treating pollen allergies is not the counts, so much as how the patient responds to the pollen they're inhaling. Clinically, there is no such thing as a 'pollen vortex.'"
If you suspect you have allergies, or if you think you're sniffing and coughing due to a bad pollen season, consult a board-certified allergist to help determine the cause of your symptoms. Allergists are also the best-equipped to bring your symptoms under control.
INFORMATION:
For more information about asthma and to locate an allergist in your area, visit AllergyandAsthmaRelief.org. The ACAAI Annual Meeting is being held Nov. 6-10 at the Georgia World Congress Convention Center in Atlanta. For more news and research being presented at the meeting, follow the conversation on Twitter #ACAAI. View the latest news online at ACAAI Annual Meeting Press Kit.
About ACAAI
The ACAAI is a professional medical organization of more than 6,000 allergists-immunologists and allied health professionals, headquartered in Arlington Heights, Ill. The College fosters a culture of collaboration and congeniality in which its members work together and with others toward the common goals of patient care, education, advocacy and research. ACAAI allergists are board-certified physicians trained to diagnose allergies and asthma, administer immunotherapy, and provide patients with the best treatment outcomes. For more information and to find relief, visit AllergyandAsthmaRelief.org. Join us on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.
ATLANTA, GA (November 7, 2014) - People who suffer from allergies want to keep up-to-date on the latest information regarding treatment, but it's not always easy. Some doctors don't even know fact from fiction when it comes to treating allergies.
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According to a presentation at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, as many as 50 percent of older adults with obstructive airway disease have overlapping characteristics of asthma and COPD. And this percentage increases ...
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In the first study comparing packed lunches to National School Lunch Program lunches, researchers from Virginia Tech found that school lunches have greater nutritional quality. Findings suggest that nutrition education...
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In a systematic, in-depth review focused on the use of behavior theory in interventions aimed to increase fruit and vegetable intake among children, researchers found theory-based interventions to be beneficial...
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An experimental drug aimed at treating a common liver disease showed promising results and potential problems in a multicenter clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health. The FLINT study found that people with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) who took obeticholic acid (OCA) had improved liver health during that period, including decreased inflammation and fat in the liver and decreased body weight versus people receiving a placebo. OCA was also associated with increases in itching and total cholesterol.
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Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have completed the largest and most sensitive visible-light imaging survey of dusty debris disks around other stars. These dusty disks, likely created by collisions between leftover objects from planet formation, were imaged around stars as young as 10 million years old and as mature as more than 1 billion years old.
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Philadelphia - Olaparib, an experimental twice-daily oral cancer drug, produces an overall tumor response rate of 26 percent in several advanced cancers associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, according to new research co-led by the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The positive response provides new hope for patients with ovarian, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers whose conditions have not responded to standard therapies. Results of the phase II study are available online in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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