Allergy specialist Dr. Paul Ehrlich says there's one noticeable difference between an allergy and a cold: allergies make your nose run "like a faucet."
The warm winter has yielded to an early spring -- which means an early start to the suffering for those with seasonal allergies.
EVEN when it's still cold outside, Jane Arbitter Lee can feel spring in the air -- her nose tells her.
But what her nose hasn't told her yet is that experts predict the weather will make this year's allergy season one of the worst.
Professor Walter Jinotti, a pollen specialist and medical researcher at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., said this will probably be a "grim" season for allergy sufferers.
"The weather conditions were favorable to plants," he said. "It was moist with very little frost. It's a start for a long and bad season."
Lee, a Brooklynite who suffers from severe allergies, is beginning to get the message.
"My nose is stuffing up and itching," she said. "It has started already, even though I haven't actually seen any buds on the trees."
The warm winter has yielded to an early spring -- which means an early start to the suffering for those with seasonal allergies.
"It's a challenge to breathe," grumbled Lee, an art history student. "My eyes itch. It's like having a grain of sand in your eye that you can't get out. Sometimes my ears get clogged."
Every spring, budding trees release pollen, which winds loft through the air. Those unlucky enough to be allergic get hit with the symptoms of a cold -- sniffling, sneezing and wheezing.
Doctors call it seasonal allergic rhinitis. But it's hay fever to most people.
Not all rhinitis is confined to warm weather. Some people suffer year-round from indoor irritants like dust mites and pet dander.
There's one noticeable difference between an allergy and a cold, said Dr. Paul
Ehrlich, an allergy specialist. People with allergies suffer from something called "watery rhinorrhea," he said. "Your nose runs like a faucet."
Parts of the city are under pollen assault from Central and Riverside Parks. Pollen also blows over from New Jersey, "The wind comes west to east, and New Jersey has a lot of trees," said Dr. Ehrlich.
Dr. Jinotti warned of another, lesser-known, springtime problem: leader dust.
This dust is formed from dried leaves, mold spores and other debris. It lies in gutters, roof crevices and tree branches.
The dust is highly airborne and "cutting to the eyes and throat," he said. Though the weekend cold spell has kept the pollen count down, that should change soon.
March should have temperatures 5 to 10 degrees above normal, predicted meteorologist Michael Schlacter of Weather 2000, a weather consulting firm.
He also predicted the worst kind of summer for allergy sufferers -- warm but not hot.
Nearly 10 percent of the population suffers from seasonal allergies. When they inhale the irritating substance, "mast cells" in their bodies release a chemical called histamine. This leads to the sniffly response.
The suffering season is split into three parts. After the spring pollen season, the grass season arrives. In August, comes ragweed season, the most toxic of all.
Ragweed can travel through the air for dozens of miles, said Dr. Jinotti. "It can leave New Jersey and be in New York within an hour."
Fortunately, allergies can be treated successfully. Over-the-counter medications include Benedryl and Chlortrimeton, though they make many people drowsy. A spray called NasalCrom needs to be taken before symptoms become active.
Prescription drugs include Allegra, Claritin and Zyrtec. The worst sufferers -- or those who can't find relief from medication -- sometimes resort to allergy shots.
They are injected with increasing doses of the irritating substance so that they build up a tolerance, said Dr. William J. Davis, director of the pediatric allergy department at Columbia University.
Davis also warned about allergies to cockroach dust -- protein material from disintegrating cockroach parts that becomes airborne.
Lee said plenty of people won't admit they have allergies.
"They say they have a cold four or five times a year, and it's always at the same time as allergy season. They refuse to believe it's an allergy."
