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Show Don't Neglect Vowf Hay Fever and "Summer Colds" by FRED W. WITTICH, M.D. Chairman, International Attociation of Allergist$ THE sneezing and sniffling that begins this week for millions of hay fever sufferers is a warning to one out of every two of us. More than half the U. S. population has some form of allergy, which, if ig. nored, often develops into more serious conditions. This can be avoided, however, because new methods of treatment are dramatically dramati-cally effective in coping with these annoying allergies. The standard treatment for allergy al-lergy has been the avoidance of whatev r it is you are serisitive to and "shots" that immunize you against the offending agent. More recently, however, medical research has turned up drugs that are making mak-ing the lives of many allergy sufferers suf-ferers more liveable. During the past year, we have confirmed the fact that the antihistamine anti-histamine drugs, properly used, can provide considerable relief to most sufferers from allergy. Medical Medi-cal evidence Indicates that almost 60 per cent of allergy victims, especially es-pecially those suffering from hay fever and hives, will obtain spectacular spec-tacular relief from these drugs. Another An-other 30 to 40 per cent will get at least partial relief. Actually, these drug3 have been known for some timo to the medical medi-cal profession, but the first chemical chemi-cal used produced side effects, such bs sleepiness and drowsiness. The newer drugs in this field, however, have proved remarkably free from these side effects and have been Used with complete safety by millions mil-lions of people. These are the same drugs which were made available to the public for use in treating the symptoms of the common cold this year, and which have attracted so much comment com-ment both pro and con. As to their effectiveness, there-is no doubt that in most allergic conditions, there Is release of a substance which doctors call H-substance or more loosely, histamine which is largely responsible for symptoms. It Is now clear that the antlhistaminte drugs do block the action of histamine on the system. Innumerable experiments experi-ments have proved that when the antihistaminics are administered the effects of histamine are counteracted coun-teracted and the allergic symptoms are greatly relieved if not completely com-pletely eliminated. The discussion this year around the antihistamines has centered largely on the question of safety. There have even been rumors that these drugs have actually harmed people. I think my experience and that of allergists is in accord with a statement recently made by Dr. Morris Fishbein, former secretary of the American Medical Association, Associa-tion, who reported recently that he had not seen an actual case in which these drugs have ever done any harm. Said Dr. Fishbein, "I am unaware of any scientific verified published evif! -e or unpublished evidence of 1 'ness." Take for e. t the case of Neohetramine, t.. itipg knowi to the public as Analiis: !:ecently Dr. Harry E. Tebrock, 1. lical Director Direc-tor of Sylvania Electric Products, using this drug in 3500 cases in a cold study, found only 2 per cent of the people showing any side I effects, and these were, as he put it, no more serious than the effects of a common cold. In another experimental ex-perimental study, this drug was given in doses of 500 milligrams a day to patients every day for six months. Drs. Judd and Henderson of the Pennsylvania State Department of Health, Hamburg, Pennsylvania, reported not a single untoward effect ef-fect in any of these patients. In another experiment this drug was given to a series of 232 children from 6 months to 12 years of age, again without any untoward side effects. It was only after these and similar tests that this drug was released to the public. Other antihistamines, such as Chlor-Trimeton, Perazil, Benadryl, Pyribenzamine, Thephoran, Decap-ryn, Decap-ryn, Neo-Antergan, Hydryllin, His-tadyl, His-tadyl, Pyrrolazote, each have similar simi-lar wide experimental backgrounds though they are available on a doctor's prescription. Another new development available avail-able to the sneezing, sniffling public this season is the use of antihistamines antihista-mines in an Atomizer that applies the medication directly to the effected ef-fected parts of the nose. The medical medi-cal profession has long known that flue 6prays are sometimes even more dramatic and Immediate than internal medication which has a slower though more sustained action. ac-tion. However, most of the drugs that we have used In nose drops or other internal medication have been suspected of adversely affecting affect-ing the lining of the nose or excessively ex-cessively stimulating the central nervous system. The antihistamines do not have these properties and may therefore prove a real boon this summer to hay fever sufferers. With the 3-way treatment now available, avoidance, immunization and symptomatic drug therapy, we are well on our way to effectively controlling allergy. The big danger now Is that people who have allergy will neglect It, Doctors now see only from a fourth to a third of a" allergies, And recent evidence seems to indicate thut untreated hay fever, for example, or allergic skin conditions may in many cases develop Into serious asthmn. |