The wild geese are overhead, the rain has driven the last leaves down and in these warm, wet November days, the mold spores are thick in the air, leaving people foggy-headed and drippy-nosed.
"It's been perfect mold weather,'' said Dr. William Rockwell of Allergy Associates of Fairfield County.
"People come in asking us for help,'' said Dan Boulanger, the phamacist at English Drug in Bethel. "We run down their symptoms -- Do you have a cough? Are you congested? -- and try to help.''
Rockwell, whose office in Bridgeport does pollen and mold counts for southern Fairfield County, said the mold counts last week were over 5,000 grains of mold per cubic foot of air.
"That's high,'' he said. "A normal count is less than 1,000.''
Rockwell said unless the weather gets seriously colder, the leaves will continue to molder.
"It will actually get up to about 10,000,'' he said of the mold count.
"Some of the weeds out there may still be producing pollen as well,'' said Dr. David Dreyfus of the Center for Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Southbury and Waterbury. "It probably won't get better until we have a hard freeze.''
As a result, they're seeing many patients whose mold allergies have kicked into high gear.
"It's actually at the end of the mold allergy season,'' said Dr. Carol Baum of Advanced Allergy Care, which has offices in Danbury and Ridgefield. "Classically, we see tree pollen allergies in the spring, grass pollen allergies in the summer, weed pollen allergies in the fall, then mold at the end.''
Dr. Jonathan Bell of Allergy & Asthma Associates in Danbury and Ridgefield said the most common of these molds is called alternaria.
"It's on dead leaves, dead grass,'' he said. "Its abundant this time of year.''
The most obvious symptoms of this flood of microscopic fungi is rhinitis -- the stuffed up noses and sinuses commonly referred to as hay fever. Some people even experience blocked-up ears and dizziness.
"Your middle and inner ears are always producing fluid,'' Rockwell said. "That fluid usually drains into the nasal passages. But if those are blocked up, the fluid has nowhere to go and it just stays sloshing around in there.''
There are thousands of different species of mold, which are tiny fungi. Many molds live on leaves and during the hot dry days of summer, they stay dormant.
But in the fall, when the leaves and rain fall, the mold releases its spores -- tiny, single-celled reproductive bodies -- as the leaves start to rot. Freezing temperatures and snow will shut them down. So will hot dry weather. But Randolph said the weather we've had this week -- wet and temperatures in the 50s and 60s -- are the mold equivalent of a perfect storm.
Bill Jacquemin, president of the Connecticut Weather Center in Danbury, said that temperatures have been running about 5 to 6 degrees higher than normal so far this month. And because of last week's downpours, the area has had more than 3 inches of rain -- again, higher than usual.
"And even when it's been sunny, things don't dry out that much because the angle of the sun is so low this time of year,'' Jacquemin said.
On top of causing rhinitis, mold spores can also trigger asthma attacks. Dr. Gregory Dworkin, chief of pediatric pulmonology at Danbury Hospital said his department can see a rise in asthma attacks this time of year.
"Leaf mold is everywhere," Dworkin said. "Leaves are everywhere. That's why we chose to live here.''
Dworkin said there are two other fall activities -- hay rides and corn mazes -- where mold is everywhere.
"They're fun things to do,'' he said. "But we tell our patients to take their medication before they go.''
The most common way to dry your sinuses out during high mold days are with over-the-counter antihistamines. But Dreyfus said there are now prescription antihistamines that work better and have fewer side-effects. Doctors might also prescribe nasal steroid sprays to help patients with severe allergies.
A coming change in the weather might also do the trick. After more rain and warm weather this week, Jacqumin said there will be a cold snap this weekend, with temperatures dropping into the 40s. With more precipitation coming next week, and the cold weather staying, we could be looking at the first snow this fall -- weather that could shut the mold spores down.
"It might be a mix of snow and rain,'' Jacquemin said. "But I can't rule snow out.''
http://www.newstimeslive.com/news/story.php?id=1022453# # #
Pure Air Control Services
1-800-422-7873
