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Newswise — For many Chicagoans, the best protection during allergy season begins with the Allergy Hotline from Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. On Monday, April 5, at 6:00 a.m., Dr. Joseph Leija, an allergist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, will climb the stairs of the Gottlieb Professional Building in
Melrose Park to the rooftop where he maintains a special pollen-catching machine. As he has for the past decade, Dr. Leija will carry samples down to his office which he will examine under a microscope and formulate the official allergy count for the Midwest. He will do this every business day for the next six months through October, the end of the pollen reporting season.
The allergy count is made available to the public this year through Twitter, as well as in English and Spanish through the Gottlieb Allergy Hotline (1-866-4-POLLEN and 1-866-ALERGIA) and at the Gottlieb Web site, www.GottliebHospital.org. “It has been a wet winter so there will be many respiratory irritants resulting in coughing and inflamed nasal passages caused by mold spores,” said Dr. Leija, who is the only allergist in the Midwest certified by the National Allergy Bureau to offer the official allergy count. “Chicago air quality is very poor due to pollution, weather conditions and plant life and statistically, we have more people than the average who suffer from symptoms such as scratching, runny noses and watery eyes.”
By knowing the counts for tree, grass, weed, mold, pollen and ragweed, allergy sufferers can control their symptoms through behavior modification and by tailoring their medication with the help of their physician. The Gottlieb Allergy Count is utilized by area media and many institutions and Dr. Leija is considered to be the regional expert authority in allergies.
Dr. Leija and the National Allergy Bureau recommend the following preventive measures for those with allergies during allergy season: Minimize outdoor activity when pollen counts are high. Peak pollen times are usually between 7 and 10 a.m. Shut windows in your house on days when pollen counts are high. Use your air conditioner for temperature control instead. When gardening or mowing the lawn, wear a filter mask. Wash your hair at night before sleeping to remove excessive pollen and potential allergens that could cause irritation.
Based in the western suburbs of Chicago, Loyola University Health System is a quaternary care system with a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and 25 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 561-licensed bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and Ronald McDonald® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardine Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb campus in Melrose Park includes the 264-bed community hospital, the Gottlieb Center for Fitness and the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Care Center.
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