BoomerGirl Diary

I’ve outgrown my favorite pair of bell-bottom jeans. My feet are too big for the Frye boots I wore in the ’70s. And that gold lame halter top I used to wear to the discos? Don’t even go there.

Getting old can be such a bummer.

But wait! Suddenly, I can go out in my garden again without sneezing the petals off my petunias. Could it be I’ve outgrown my seasonal allergies at the ripe old age of 51?

“Yes!” says Dr. Deb Anderson of St. Francis Family Medicine in Topeka, Kan.

“The good news is allergies really do get better as you get older, particularly if you’ve lived in the same area a long time,” says Anderson. “It’s almost like the theory behind getting allergy shots. You’re exposed over and over, and eventually, your body is no longer hyper-reactive to the allergens.”

Dr. Neeta Gupta of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology explains, “As adults age, the decline of allergic symptoms might result from a decrease in serum total and specific IgE, the antibodies responsible for causing allergic symptoms.”

For those of us who’ve spent each previous spring locked up in air-conditioned isolation, that’s great news.

But hold on to your hankies! Our sniffle-free bliss may be short-lived, depending on climate conditions.

“Allergies will flare up if the environment has changed somehow,” Dr Anderson cautions. “Maybe your area has been dry for years and years, and then suddenly it floods. Now you’ve got a wet basement and mold growing everywhere. Your body has gotten used to the old stuff but when you throw something new at it, it’s going to react.”

This good news-bad news scenario is especially significant for baby boomers considering retiring to another part of the country or buying a second home.

Dr. Gupta warns that some retirement “hot spots” can actually make allergies worse.

“As people move to warmer climates, the pollen exposure and timing may be different than a cooler climate. Because of the warmer weather, the pollen season is definitely longer so if they suffer from seasonal allergies, they may have a longer duration of symptoms. Also, a more humid environment promotes dust mite and mold growth.”

For the person who is ultra-sensitive to pollens and molds, Dr. Anderson says to “think dry.”

“If you’re a strongly allergic person and your symptoms haven’t calmed down with age, you might think about dry places like Arizona. There’s a good reason so many of us head to the desert.”

And before you plunk down that nest egg on the retirement villa or home-away-from- home of your choice, try living in that part of the world longer than just a week.

“What I would do if I was retiring (or buying a second home) is try before you buy.” Anderson suggests. “Pick a new place and try it on for size for three months. That’s how long it takes to know if the location you’ve chosen is compatible with your body.”

What a great excuse for an extended vacation! I must remember to pack my swimsuit … if I haven’t outgrown that, too.