Pollen allergy on the rise in Islamabad
Pakistan Times Health Desk

THERE is an alarming rise in the spread of pollen allergy in the Federal Capital and its adjacent areas which causes cough, asthma, skin and other related diseases. With the onset of spring season, the number of allergy patients is increasing day by day throughout the country. The main reason behind its spread is increasing pollution in the environment and the pollen grains.

The allergy season lasts from late-February until early June, and again from June to September.

However, for the last three years, there has been persistence of symptoms through summer because rather than shedding its pollens from mid-March to mid-April, paper mulberry, the pollens of which are scientifically proven to be the sole cause of life-threatening respiratory allergies and asthmatic attacks, now flowers until July, thereby prolonging the agony of patients beyond spring.

Specific tests prove that the sole cause of the severe form of respiratory allergy including asthma, in these seasons, are pollens from male paper mulberry plants in late February till June, and pollens from cannabis sativa (Bhang) in the rainy season from June till September. These attacks often lead to hospital admissions, especially late at night and when it rains.

There are three prescribed methods of treatment of the disease i.e. restricting the allergy patients from the things and environments which cause them allergy; resort to normal cure and lastly, if the disease is not cured yet, the third way of treating allergy is administration of allergy vaccine called Immuno Therapy.

In the West, pollen counts above 1,500 per cubic metre are termed ‘very high’ and people dying of acute respiratory failure due to pollen allergy is completely unheard of. That is why, when doctors search medical literature for cutting of trees as a measure for prevention of pollen allergy, they find none, as Islamabad is unique in its high pollen counts.

When these trees were first introduced to the pristine environment of Islamabad, nobody knows. “Paper mulberry is an established indigenous plant of the subcontinent; it was a common forestation plant in Ravi and Shahdara areas in the early 20th century; was locally procured and first introduced in Islamabad in the 1960s,” said an officer of the Capital Development Authority, on the condition of anonymity.

According to studies, majority of the patients are residents of the older sectors. 20 per cent of the households in Islamabad report the presence of allergic illnesses in some form or the other. Sixty-five per cent of the seasonal asthmatic patients are females, 35 per cent are males, 80 per cent are aged between 20 to 40 years, 10 per cent below 20 years and 10 per cent more than 40 years. There is no data on the number of deaths caused by pollen allergy available.

“These paper mulberry trees are enemies of the people, but those who have not personally experienced the trauma of losing a loved one will never understand. It is the CDA and the greenery of Islamabad that has killed my brother,” said a resident of G-6 sector, Riaz Hussain.

For those who suffer from pollen allergies, it is time for taking medications and wearing masks, keeping inhalers handy, avoiding going out for a stroll in the morning, and so on. It is that time of the year which makes them extremely miserable and inactive. Already many people are reportedly falling sick due to pollen related allergies.

If one is sneezing, has a runny nose and eyes that are itching, it is probably a cause for alarm. It may be the symptoms of an on-setting allergy. Further, if there is breathing problem and tightness in the chest, it means the allergy is getting worse.

The allergy patients should see their doctors before they fall sick. Taking due measures well before hand may help things from getting worse. However, there are many persons who suffer from breathing problem and asthma with the onset of an allergy.

Such patients should take inhalers as inhalers are a safe form of treatment, advises the brochure handed over to the patients visiting Pollen Allergy Camp, organized by National Institute of Health at Community Centre, Aabpara.●