Allergy sufferers bothered by more than allergens

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Allergy sufferers bothered by more than allergens

Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:03 PM GMT

By Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Hayfever suffers seem to be highly sensitive

not only to typical seasonal allergy triggers like grass and tree

pollens, but also to things like cold air, perfumes, cigarette smoke,

household cleaning products, and even exercise.

According to a new study, people with hayfever or seasonal allergic

rhinitis are more likely than those without seasonal allergies to react

when exposed to these " non-allergic triggers, " Dr. Dennis

Shusterman of the University of Washington, Seattle, reported at a

gathering of asthma and allergy specialists in San Diego this

week.

Shusterman and his colleagues studied non-allergen triggers among 60

adults between 19 and 68 years old with and without a history of allergic

rhinitis.

They found that the majority of subjects who reported reacting to more

than three of the non-allergic triggers had a history of allergic

rhinitis.

Specifically, 42 percent of seasonal hayfever sufferers reported more

than three non-allergic triggers like cold air, perfumes and tobacco

smoke, compared with only 3 percent of subjects without a history of

allergic rhinitis.

" Interestingly, " Shusterman said, " a previously published

study came up with very similar numbers so I think this is a very real

phenomenon in which there is a subset of allergic rhinitics who are also

responsive to non-allergic triggers. "

People in the study who were older than 35 years of age were more likely

to report one or more non-allergic hayfever triggers, particularly

tobacco smoke.