Adults Confuse Hay Fever With Illness

Allergies Can Develop At Any Time

One springtime surprise that can come with age is the onset of allergies such as hay fever. Adults, who don’t realize they now have an allergy, may confuse common allergy symptoms with a cold or the flu.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America states that an increasing number of adults are experiencing the onset of allergies such as hay fever for the first time. It is estimated that asthma and allergies affect one of every four Americans or more than 60 million people. Hay fever is the fifth leading chronic disease and a major cause of work absenteeism, resulting in nearly four million missed or lost workdays each year.

This makes recognizing and treating allergies very important for adults.

“Allergies can develop at any time,” said Robert Ziegelmann, MD, a Spectrum Health Medical Group family medicine physician. “Patients come in with symptoms that they don’t recognize because they never had allergy problems before. They start treating hay fever as a cold which doesn’t work and can lead to sinusitis or ear infections.”

Here is a quick checklist to determine whether the problem is an allergy rather than a cold or the flu:

Allergy

Occurs any time of year
No fever
Symptoms last longer than a week
Runny nose, clear discharge

Cold/Flu

Usually appears in winter
Fever
Symptoms clear up in a few days to a week
Runny nose, yellow discharge

Ziegelmann recommends that adults who experience potential allergy symptoms contact their primary care provider.

“Hay fever shouldn’t stop you from working,” said Ziegelmann. “Allergies for some people may be curable. Immunotherapy in the form of allergy shots or newer sublingual therapy is highly effective. Immunotherapy can be helpful not only for allergy symptoms like hay fever but may also help when allergies trigger asthma or eczema.”

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, a collection of seven hospitals and more than 140 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group, a multispecialty team of nearly 100 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 500,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 14,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,000 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care to those in medical need. The organization provided $111.1 million in community benefit during its 2008 fiscal year. As a system, Spectrum Health has earned more than 100 awards during the past 10 years.