allergies

[This piece was written by Kathy Ristau, RRT, RPFT, AE-C with St. Peter’s Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Wellness Program.] We all love the thought of spring with the magnolia trees blooming, the smell of grass growing and the sound of bees buzzing. That is, until our first “Aaaachoooo” – the telltale sign that allergy season is upon us. Surely, we can have allergies all year long. But, traditionally, it’s spring that brings out the worst symptoms in the asthmatic. As of 2016, there were 96,173 asthmatics in the Capital Region with 47,400 of them living in Albany and Rensselaer counties. Additionally, 2016 saw 500 hospitalizations and nine deaths in these two counties related to asthma. With May being National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, now is the perfect time to increase your knowledge about asthma and how best to self-manage the disease. Because an asthmatic’s lungs react to a trigger, the removal or avoidance of the trigger will limit the reaction or perhaps prevent it from happening. And, if a reaction does occur, certain medications can […]