Came across the following (extract) in a recent article. What really surprised me was that I had never heard of this fungus before - nor the allergen that it's spores give rise to [Alt a 1] which the article says: ''.....is considered as *the major allergen* associated with chronic asthma....'' (Note the asterisk star symbols above and below are mine).
Has anyone got any knowledge / experience of this? I've spent hundred of hours (possibly thousands) researching Asthma and - to the best of my recollection - this is the first time I've come across a reference to this Fungus / Allergen.
I'm thinking that - if the spores give rise to this allergen (which according to the article - is '' *the major allergen* associated with chronic asthma) - then should Asthmatics be tested for / treated for this trigger? (Or perhaps some of us are already being tested / treated for it?). Here's the article extract:
''.....Spores of certain Alternaria fungus that appear as mold in plants of most of our crops are present in the atmosphere throughout the year. Alt a 1 is a strongly allergenic protein present in the spores of Alternaria alternata before germination. "Alt a 1" is responsible for infections and common respiratory conditions and is also considered as the major allergen associated with chronic asthma....''
Tree spores were my downfall in September. There was a heavy rain shower and this dumped all the spores into the ground and this gave me an asthma attack. I learnt this when I dutiful went to the Doctors the next day when I went to see her this was her explanation. Never heard of this before. This pollen count is to be found on netweather.tv/index.cgi?act... useful for every day checking.
Oh I have only medium asthma first time reaction to these spores. Something else added to the list.
Luckily I dont react to alternaria, but most moulds are available as routine skin or blood tests for asthma or rhinitis investigations....if indicated by the medical history.
Mold is certainly a major trigger for me and autumn is not usually a good time of year. I say usually because it would appear there are exceptions. I've just returned from 2 weeks in the US (I have a son out there). For most of that time we were in New England (which is a heavily wooded area - lots and lots of trees which is one of the reasons why the Fall season over there is so spectacular). This year they have had a drought in that part of America, so everything is on the dry side, and the weather while we were over there was wonderful. No problems with my asthma at all, in spite of all the trees.
So for me I would say it is the damp conditions that are the real culprit in Autumn, which makes sense, given that mold thrives in damp conditions.
Hello I am allergic to alternaria . My consultant at the Royal Brompton said they are present in the air all year round .... I take SIRDUPLA ( a Seretide ) which helps . Best Marilyn
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