If you’ve been sneezing or stuffed up for the past few weeks, get ready for the long haul as allergy seasons in British Columbia are getting longer and more intense.
Allergists warn that global warming is the cause for the longevity of pollen seasons, which makes things complicated for determining if your sniffles might be symptoms of COVID-19 or allergies.
Thankfully, the experts have some suggestions when trying to determine if it’s a virus or seasonal allergies.
Glacier Media interviewed Dr. Stephanie Erdle, a clinical instructor in the division of allergy and immunology department of pediatrics at UBC and Dr. Amin Kanani, a clinical associate professor in the division of allergy and immunology at UBC, to find out what British Columbians should know when it comes to the allergy season this year.
When is allergy season in B.C.?
In British Columbia, we have two large allergy seasons categorized as tree pollen season and grass pollen season.
Currently, we are going through the tree pollen season. It starts in February and typically settles down by the end of May.
“But in May grass pollen starts and will go all the way to August,” says Kanani.
Erdle says the pollen season starts very early in B.C. and pollen counts are going up.
What are some common spring allergy symptoms?
Itchiness is the biggest giveaway to seasonal allergies, for both eyes and nose.
Is it allergies or COVID?
At first glance, it might be hard to determine what’s causing your sneezing or sniffles, but according to Erdle, there are a few signs to be on the lookout for.
“Although there are some overlapping symptoms, there are some pretty distinct symptoms between the two of them,” she says.
Overlapping symptoms include nasal congestion, stuffy nose and runny nose.
“There are a lot of symptoms that are pretty unique,” she says. “From the allergy side, the number one thing people complain about is itchiness and you don’t usually get that from COVID.”
Itchy and watery eyes are very common for allergies but not for COVID-19 symptoms and “stuffiness” is most likely seen in people with allergies, not COVID-19.
Kanani agrees the “itch” is often associated with allergies and not viral infections.
“With COVID-19, you can get a stuffy nose and runny nose. But typically with COVID-19 and other viral infections, you don’t get the itch,” he says.
Typical symptoms people can experience with COVID-19 and not with allergies include a fever, upset stomach, diarrhea and fatigue.
“With allergies, we don’t usually see fatigue,” he says.
Another obvious one for the two experts is how long the symptoms last. Allergies will last a few months, whereas if you’re vaccinated, your symptoms if sick with COVID-19 would not last very long.
What’s the most common allergy?
The leading cause of tree allergies in Metro Vancouver is alder and birch.
On Vancouver Island, there are a lot of oak tree allergies, according to Kanani.
“For tree pollen, it is alder and birch in B.C.,” says Erdle. “The next two most common are the whole cedar family and elm.”
Other common tree allergies in B.C. include ash, maple, mulberry and willow.
When will pollen go away?
Not until August.
Tree pollen season lasts until the end of May and grass pollen lasts until August.
What are the most common allergies kids get?
Erdle sees alder and birch being the two most common tree allergies in children.
She notes that it is rare to see allergies in children before age three and that they can pop up between age three and 10.
What allergy medication should I take?
Second-generation antihistamines are one recommended way to treat your allergies.
“The ones that we prefer are Reactine, Claritin, Aerius, Allegra,” says Kanani. “Or prescription ones like Rupall.”
What allergy medication should my kids take?
“I tell families, ‘Leave the Benadryl and go for one of the non-sedating antihistamines,” says Erdle. “They last longer, they work the same as Benadryl, but they don’t cross into the brain so you don’t get the drowsiness.”
There are some new treatments — like immunotherapy — that can change the immune system through shots.
“I don’t normally recommend this in kids as it’s weekly shots for six months, monthly shots for three to five years, which is not practical for children,” she says. “But there are some newer ones called ‘sublingual immunotherapy’ that are tablets that go under the tongue.”
Children take these tablets for six to nine months of the year for three years in a row.
“It can significantly improve symptoms,” she says.
This type of treatment is available for grass pollen, tree pollen, ragweed pollen and house dust mites.
“I’m seeing younger and younger kids where families are choosing that option,” she says.
What allergy medication should we avoid?
Both allergists say “second-generation” antihistamines should be used for both kids and adults.
“The older type we like to avoid because they have a lot more side effects, the main one being sedation and impairment,” says Kanani.
Erdle is advising people not to use Benadryl or similar medication like Tripolon.
“Benadryl is very heavily marketed towards children. We do not recommend Benadryl. It causes a lot of drowsiness, it crosses into the brain and you have to dose it very often,” she says. “Even though it causes drowsiness it really can negatively impact sleep and quality of sleep.”
Why are allergy seasons getting longer?
Trends over the past couple of decades indicate that global warming is having an impact on the allergy seasons in B.C.
“With global warming, we are seeing higher pollen counts and longer pollen seasons so symptoms tend to be worse and that extends into kids as well,” says Erdle. “We are seeing these really long pollen seasons of people having symptoms as early as February going into the fall now.”
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
