Problematic pollen

Trees make allergy season more annoying for sufferers

April 19, 2005

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal staff writer

’Tis the season to be sneezing.
Itching, coughing, sniffling, wheezing.
Spring has finally arrived in Greenwood and the Lakelands, bringing with it the warmer weather that has sent trees, bushes and other plants into pollen-producing frenzy.
During the past few weeks, that all-too-familiar yellow powder has been coating just about everything in the great outdoors, and Clemson University’s Greenwood Extension Agent James Hodges said it could be months before the pollen season is over.
“We’re through the worst of it, but it is not over by any stretch of the imagination. The Southeast will pretty much have another month or two of this. We have such a long sequence because trees don’t put out pollen at the same time,” he said. “It has also been (stretched) out this year a bit because of the prolonged cloudy, cool and damp weather.”
While plants and trees that have bright, fragrant flowers are often given evil looks by allergy sufferers, the main suspects for the yellow pollen dusting the area are the less flamboyant flora, such as oaks and pines, which use the wind to reproduce.
According to the World Book Encyclopedia, plant reproduction, or pollination, occurs when pollen, the male plant gamete, is transferred from the male reproductive organ, called the stamens or male pollen cones, to the female reproductive organ, called the pistil or female seed cones.
Since those tall pines and giant oaks in your yard don’t use tempting buds to attract birds and insects to carry out pollination, they have to produce an enormous amount of the powdery pollen to release into the wind, where it can land on trees as far as 20 miles away, Hodges said.
“Of course, most of it drops on your neighbor’s car,” he said.
He added that most of the yellow pollen has already been released from trees, and the next round of allergy enemies has arrived – the catkins.
Pollen catkins, the long, brownish strings that accumulate in mass in gutters, building recesses and, of course, underneath your windshield wipers, begin falling from pines and other trees after their pollen has been released.
“They can also cause allergic reactions, and the shear volume of them makes it (a problem) for some people,” Hodges said.
Dr. Kyle Scates, an ear, nose and throat specialist with the Greenwood ENT Center and the Hearing and Balance Center, said the most common ailments he sees in patients with pollen allergies are the “classic” symptoms.
“Typically, they are of a nasal or ocular origin – the itchy, runny, sneezy symptoms in your eyes, nose and throat,” he said. “There’s also congestion, soreness of the throat, coughing and wheezing.”
Rarely, pollen can also cause skin and gastrointestinal reactions, he added.
Allergist Dr. Steven Gottlieb of Carolina Allergy, Sinus and Asthma, said that in the decade he has been practicing in the area, he has found that oak, pecan, birch and red cedar are the “big four” types of pollen causing hayfever havoc in the Lakelands.
“Oak is the one that has just gone berserk. Pine usually doesn’t produce allergies because it has a hard waxy coat on its pollen grain,” he said. “Pine causes more of an irritant response versus an allergic response. It’s very similar and the symptoms overlap, but someone who is truly allergic is usually reacting to the other trees.”
Both Gottlieb and Scates said they have seen business pick up at their offices in the past weeks, and Scates said he doesn’t expect it to slack off until late fall, after grass and weed pollens have settled.
“It’s hard to avoid pollen. Unless you are willing to live in a glass bubble, you can’t get away from it,” Scates said. “But there are some things you can do.”
Over-the-counter antihistamines and decongestants are a good place to start, he said, and, if those don’t work, prescription medication or more aggressive treatments can be options.
“If medical therapy doesn’t do the trick, you can be tested and desensitized (to the allergen),” Scates said. “In the early morning, pollen counts are higher. If you know you are going to be out, try to pre-treat yourself with medicine and antihistamines. After you’re done with the exposure, clean your nose out with salt water.”
For the most part, experts say if you live where there are plants and trees, pollen is just a fact of life you have to deal with.
“It’s a yearly occurrence, and we have to have pollen for the plants and for food. There is not much we can do in the whole realm of things,” Hodges said. “You could just go to Arizona.”

Hornets get region crown

April 19, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

WARE SHOALS — Roughly one hour after the Dixie High School softball team clinched the Region I-A title, the Hornets completed the championship sweep.
Behind a dominating pitching performance from senior Nick Milford, the Dixie baseball team claimed the region title and the all-important No. 1 seed with a 5-2 win over Thornwell Monday night in a tiebreaker game played at Ware Shoals.
It’s the Hornets (19-4 overall, 11-1 Region I-A) first region title in four years. The Dixie softball team won its second straight region championship by knocking off Ware Shoals.
Milford went the distance for the win, striking out 15 while walking only one, scattering five hits and allowing two runs, one earned.
“We knew exactly what we were playing for, because we haven’t been region champs since I was in eighth grade,” Milford said. “We knew we had the team to do it this year. This just feels great.”
Milford, who outside of one inning of relief work, hasn’t pitched since he and the Hornets last faced the Saints back on April 5. But the senior hurler showed no signs of rust, fanning two in a perfect first.
Milford led off the bottom half of the first by drilling a shot into right field off Thornwell starter Carlton Watts .
Milford sprinted all the way around for an inside-the-park homer, giving the Hornets the 1-0 lead. Dixie added a run in each of the next two innings, including the eventual game-winner on a sacrifice fly from John Wilson to bring home Sean Lown.
Milford handled the Saints with ease for the first five innings, recording 12 of the 15 outs by strike out.
Thornwell cracked the scoreboard in the sixth when Adam Thomas matched Milford with an inside-the-park home run of his own.
But Dixie responded with two more runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 5-1 lead. The Saints added one in the seventh, but a pair of strikeouts and a pick-off out from catcher Sean Lown gave the Hornets to the region title.

Opinion

Sometimes taxpayers learn ‘home rule’ has real limits

April 19, 2005

It may not appear as such, but South Carolinians got a lesson in home rule the other day ….. or lack of home rule.
Charleston County has been trying for several years to provide property tax relief for owners who have seen skyrocketing increases in property taxes every time their property was reassessed. In downtown Charleston and on the sea islands, the increases have been outrageous.
While this particular case was about Charleston County, it has implications for every county in South Carolina.
When Charleston, for the second time, tried to put a reassessment cap on increases in property taxes, the State Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional. The ruling was that taking such action was not in the county’s domain, that state lawmakers had to do it, and do it on a statewide basis, before it could happen.
So, if anyone had any ideas that property taxes were a local issue they now know better. What happens still depends on what goes on in Columbia.
Meanwhile, the automatic “tax” (that isn’t a tax?) in the name of reassessment lives on ….. and nobody is accountable while the cost goes up.

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Obituaries

Kenneth R. Bryce

ABBEVILLE — Kenneth R. Bryce, 50, of 54 Highway 20, formerly of Greenville, died Monday, April 18, 2005 at his home.
Services will be announced by Harris Funeral Home.

Carroll McAllister

HODGES — William Carroll McAllister, 67, of 408 Pine Drive, husband of Glenda Roberts McAllister, died Sunday, April 17, 2005 at his home.
Born in Greenwood, he was a son of the late Walter Homer and Emmie McFerrin McAllister. He was self-employed in the restaurant business and was of the Church of God faith.
Survivors include his wife of the home; a daughter, Donna Ginn of Greenwood; three sons, William C. “Bo” McAllister of Greenwood, Preston C. McAllister of Ninety Six and Roger McAllister of Hodges; a sister, Joyce Scott of Greenwood; 12 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Wednesday at Harley Funeral Home, conducted by the Rev. Craig Hughes. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers are Mike Rutland, David Goodman, Mark Cook, Brian McAllister, Gregg McAllister and Jay Atkins.
Honorary escorts are Tom Gary, Ira Gary, Harold Bryant, Russell “Butch” Parrish, Paul Smith, Tee Yon and Ken Howard.
Visitation is 6-8 tonight at the funeral home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Ollie B. Simpkins

EDGEFIELD, SC – Ollie B. Simpkins quietly departed to meet her heavenly Father Saturday, April 16, 2005 at her residence. Funeral services will be held 2 PM Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at the Pleasant Lane Baptist Church with the Rev. Sloan Gordon officiating. Burial will be in the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery. Visitation will be held Tuesday, April 19, 2005 at the Amos & Sons Funeral Home at 7-8 PM.
Survivors include four daughters, Jewell (Michael) Mosley, Trenton, SC; Shirley L. Taylor and Ernestine Moore, both of Edgefield, SC and Patsy (Robert) Butler, Johnston, SC; a son, James (Iris) Simpkins, Farmington, MI; a brother, Charlie (Shirley) Holloway, Mt. Olive, NC; eleven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Amos & Sons Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY