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Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Allergies, smoke smack locals
By Tom Chace

It isn't contagious, but whatever's flying around is "catching."

Nature's own dust and pollen has brought about a double whammy to those caught up in the smoke from the controlled burning all around this area this year.

Coughing and wheezing, crying and sneezing are commonplace in and around Sisters this week. We tend to forget from one year to another, but if you had it last year, you've probably got it again this year. We also forget that it is not forever but lasts only a few weeks at the most.

For those with a bronchial problem, asthma and other breathing disorders, this time of year, and this burning season, is a very serious health problem.

Tim Muir, owner and pharmacist at Sisters Drug Company, has a number of good and somewhat effective solutions.

"First, stay indoors as much as possible," he said. "And, if it really gets bad, get out of town. This is a great time to go to the coast where the condition is considerably lessened."

He pointed out that many new furnaces have electronic filtering devices.

"If you don't want or need the heat, turn on the fan only and that will help filter out the pollen," he said.

"Another good 'home-remedy' is to increase the humidity in your house by putting a pot of water on top of your wood stove or boiling a kettle of water and letting the steam blow throughout the house. Heavy air, or moisture, collects the pollen, weighs down the molecules and drops it to the floor. It's still there but not at our breathing level," he said.

For the next 10 to 12 days allergy sufferers need to change their normal lifestyles. Give up golf and fishing. Put off gardening until May.

Try a face mask if you need to be out in the stuff.

"We've had pretty good success with the pollen/dust mask that you see on TV these days, now in use in the Orient," Muir said. "We also have some pretty effective allergy eye drops for those who do not wear contacts.

"And, a group of drugs called 'Claritins' are now over-the-counter, where last year they were all by prescription. So there is pharmaceutical help as well," Muir said.

For an area that has air so pure, it seems incredible that we could have a bothersome something floating about that makes us miserable.

Another professional suggested replacing the filter on the return air side of furnaces.

"We have some very effective anti-dust, anti-pollen ones," the source said.

Will it end? You bet. Another week, maybe two, when the buds of spring turn into the flowers of summer.

So, folks in Sisters, sneeze, cough, wipe those eyes and try to keep in mind that if it wasn't for the Sisters Spring Thing, there would be no aspen in bloom, no juniper green, no hay waving in the fields, no wild flowers with their petals and stamens throwing off pollen and no continuation of life.

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