'98 TOUGH YEAR FOR VICTIMS OF ALLERGIES, EXPERTS SAY.

Byline: Erin Gebroe Daily News Staff Writer

Two of the more popular words in the Santa Clarita Valley in 1998 may have been ``bless you.''

Stirred by weather conditions and new construction, allergies and incidents of asthma rose last year, sending more people to the doctor compared to the previous year, local allergists say.

Jeff Curran knows. His allergies were ``110 times worse'' than previous years, he said.

``You're just miserable,'' said Curran, a Santa Clarita resident and sheriff's deputy assigned to the Pitchess Detention Center. ``It feels like you have a bad cold without a fever.''

Between 50 million and 60 million Americans - one out of every five people - suffer from allergies, according to the Southern California chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Although allergies flared all over the county in 1998, they were especially bad for people in Santa Clarita.

``The Santa Clarita Valley is a very fertile ground for allergic people because you have a lot of different things going on,'' said allergist Roger Katz, who practices at the University of California, Los Angeles, and in Valencia.

Last year, allergist Houshang Farhadian of the Santa Clarita Allergy and Asthma Center saw 10 percent more new patients than he did in 1997, he said.

Allergist Lawrence Strick, who has offices in Valencia and Tarzana, saw the same jump. ``It has increased by about 10 percent,'' he said.

The increase did not only trigger more doctor visits and medication purchases, but it stole chunks of beloved free time.

Last year, Curran's runny nose and itchy eyes invaded his vacations.

``I'm big into outdoor camping, fishing, all that, and it just makes the trip so miserable when I have the reaction,'' he said, adding that he had to end a fishing trip early and cancel a couple of others.

Northridge resident Elisa Fedeczko, who works in Santa Clarita, said her runny nose and nasal drip were worse last year, too. She went outside less and received more allergy shots than usual.

``Instead of every month, I took them every two weeks,'' Fedeczko said.

A combination of factors helps explain the increase. Doctors point to the El Nino phenomenon, which produced more rain than normal, desert winds and new construction.

Rains from El Nino watered grass and plants, which flourished, increasing the amount of pollen floating through the air.

``We attributed those (new patients) to the extensive pollination from the overgrowth of plants,'' Farhadian said.

Weather, however, is like a double-edged sword because dryness causes problems too. When the air is dry, chances for wind increase, thereby increasing the amount of pollen swirling around, Farhadian said.

``Either way we have pollens in the air,'' he said.

Another culprit is new construction, which is rampant in Santa Clarita, one of the fastest growing cities in Los Angeles County.

``Building stirs up a lot of molds from the soil,'' Strick said. Spores from the mold then float into the air, waiting to be breathed.

But even though doctors try to explain to patients why their allergies get worse at different times, explanations are often only suppositions, said Cathy Pollak, a health educator with the asthma foundation.

``It's a difficult chronic condition to manage,'' she said. ``It's almost like solving a mystery.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) Donna Finster administers one of four allergy shots to Tom Norwood of Valencia. Many area allergy sufferers said 1998 was worse than most years.

(2) Dr. Houshang Farhadian examines Jeff Curran's eyes for allergy symptoms. ``It feels like you have a bad cold without a fever,'' Curran said of allergy attacks.

John Lazar/Daily News