A springtime Olympics demands special consideration for allergic athletes

Background: The Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in Septemb er-October 2000, which is early to midspring in the southern hemisphere. Po llen-sensitive athletes may encounter problems with allergic symptoms trigg ered by pollen exposure, thus compromising their ability to attain peak per formance. Objective: We sought to monitor pollen levels at the major Olympic venues t o provide information for allergic athletes and their team doctors in order to adequately prepare them for Olympic competition. Methods: We performed aerobiologic monitoring of the major Olympic venues t o provide a profile of the most prevalent pollen species appearing during t he spring. In the second part of this study, we surveyed a population of el ite Australian athletes from Olympic sports to ascertain the prevalence of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, to investigate the major allergens involved i n sensitization, and to conduct a pilot study to assess the effect of aller gic rhinoconjunctivitis on quality of life. Results: The pollen counts obta ined at the 3 major sites were high over the period of Olympic competition. Tree pollens appeared from July, and grasses appeared from early September and peaked in the second week of October, the beginning of Paralympic comp etition. A relatively small number of pollen varieties comprise the majorit y of the total pollen count. Two hundred fourteen athletes (61% male; mean age, 21 +/- 16 years) representing 12 Olympic sports participated in the st udy. Fifty-six percent gave a symptom history consistent with allergic rhin oconjunctivitis, 41% had symptoms of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and a pos itive test response to any one allergen, and 29% had seasonal allergic rhin oconjunctivitis (a positive history and at least one positive skin prick te st response to a seasonal allergen). Athletes from aquatic sports were more likely to have symptoms than those from other sports, Symptom scores were higher and quality of life ratings were poorer in allergic compared with no nallergic athletes over the spring period, Conclusion: Olympic team managers and medical officers need to adequately p repare Olympic athletes for the possibility of exposure to high pollen leve ls in the weeks leading up to this most important sporting event. Symptoms of pollen sensitivity, such as rhinoconjunctivitis and exacerbation of asth ma, could be devastating to athletes expecting peak performance, Potential Olympic athletes should be screened for the possibility of pollen allergy a nd have medical programs with permitted medication tailored to meet their n eeds. This may involve preventative therapy with meditation, such as intran asal corticosteroid sprays or immunotherapy programs, if symptoms are parti cularly severe. The newer nonsedating antihistamines are the treatment of c hoice fur acute intermittent symptoms, Appropriate management will ensure that the allergic athlete will safely pe rform to maximum ability with permitted medication during the Spring 2000 O lympic Games in Sydney.