Marion J… a 16-year-old girl had many colds last year in May and
June.
This year, all of her symptoms started during the same period. But,
in addition to sneezing, having a stuffy nose or a runny nose like
a fountain, she could not stop coughing, especially at night and
when she does exercise. She thinks that it is her nose which makes
her cough, but she has the sensation of having “something dripping
at the back of her throat” and she complains of a constant tickle
in her throat and chest.
Although no one in her family has an allergic disorder, her family
doctor, who was very interested by the recurrence of the signs
during the same period as last year, preferred to refer her to a
physician specializing in allergology.
The allergologist, after having examined her, performed skin tests
and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) which made it possible to
measure her air volume and flow rate within the lungs.
In the end, the skin tests showed that Marion was allergic to
grass pollen (particularly abundant in her area in the months of
April and May). But breath tests demonstrated in particular that
what Marion thought to be a cough due to her stuffy nose, was in
fact asthma.
In fact, this season, all of the symptoms regressed with treatment
of allergic rhinitis in combination with a treatment for asthma.
The allergologist discussed the option, for next year, of planning
a desensitization therapy to grass pollens.
This case also shows that pollen allergy is not always limited to
simple hay fever but is often associated with signs and symptoms of
asthma during the pollen season.
The diagnosis of asthma is not always apparent especially when no
one has ever had or seen it in his/her own family circle. The
existence of respiratory symptoms as ordinary as a cough should
lead the patient to visit the family physician, and to conduct
additional laboratory tests, in particular, measurement air volume
and flow rate within the lungs, which generally confirms or rules
out the diagnosis of asthma.
The desensitization to pollen allergy is especially useful, when
the disorder has been progressing for a short time and is
associated with minor non-serious asthma. It can improve the
symptoms and especially avoid their worsening in the future, year
after year.