Hay fever (1953)

[Music] the sumar in England sees a great migration from town to country people go to get away from City Life to the grassy fields and Shady Lanes many enjoy themselves in Cottages others in Caravans some prefer the river and others like helping on the farm while there are always those content with the roadside although most people enjoy themselves there are some like this girl who are not so happy they suffer from what is commonly known as hay fever their eyes irritate their noses run and they sneeze while about half the patients wee and cough as well hay fever is not a good ter to describe these symptoms as there is no fever and hay does not cause it it is possible to be allergic or sensitive to many substances but the common cause of seasonal hay fever in Great Britain is grass pollen symptoms start in May and continue until July or August generally reaching their peak in June farming in the summer may appear very pleasant but it is not recommended for the hay fever sufferer however it is not only those visiting the country who suffer from these symptoms as there are many other pollins which affect sensitive people these trees are growing not in the country but in the Center of London plain trees are often found in towns and they are heavy pollen producers the flower sensitive patient is uncommon but symptoms can occur particularly from those flowers such as Golden Rod and da which are brought in doors these dalers have been collected to obtain pollen from which extracts will be made for testing and treating patients dirt and dust abound in our cities and the air is full of the spores of various moles rubbish dumps are a fruitful source of these fungi which easily penetrate into our homes sending the bread moldy and in some people causing allergic symptoms many wives know that the morning housework may upset them dust in carpets bedding and particularly in pillows is often a factor to be remembered sometimes it may not be obvious why a particular house causes sneezing here is a floorboard taken from an old house only when the floor gave way and showed the presence of dry rot was the reason obvious and in this case investigation showed that the patient was sensitive to the fungus spores of dry rot the circus occasionally provides examples of those who are sensitive to animal scarf if you are horse sensitive you can still enjoy yourself but avoid the ringside seats normally people who are sensitive to particular substances can avoid the cause of their trouble for instance snow and pollen just don't go together in summer it is not so easy for the grass sensitive patient to get away from the pollen but a Sea Breeze and a Sandy Beach are probably the hav a sufferers idear of heaven we have now seen some of the causes of symptoms in patients who are sensitive or as we say allergic to various substances now let's see how these symptoms are treated tablets lotions or medicines treat the symptoms but don't remove the cause if you are sensitive to cat scurf you can always get rid of the cat but it is impossible to get away from the pollen that is in the air and desensitization by injections of the pollen extract may have to be carried out we are now going to show you how pollen is collected and the various processes that it goes through for the extract can be used for desensitizing the hay fever sufferer in 1911 at St Mary's Hospital peddington the treatment of hay fever patients with a grass pollen extract was first started by do noon in 1913 Dr Freeman took over this work which has continued ever since in the allery department at St Mary's Leonard new's researches made him realize that he's got to work with extremely small doses and to get those small doses we had to have a very small unit which is to this very day known as the noon unit the grass poinin necessary for this was collected by his sister Dorothy noon at the end of a strenuous Summer she managed to collect perhaps two or three grams of it nowadays we get very worried indeed if we can't top 10,000 G of it and of course that needs organization we had a special Building made and that I called the pollinarium production at the pollinarium started in 1935 and here from Spring to Autumn workers are busy in the fields and buildings the grasses are grown in rows so that picking can go on without damaging the plants this is Timothy grass a profuse pollen producer and half the total quantity of grass pollen collected comes from this one variety the pollen is shed as the grass flowers and reaping demands careful timing if the greatest yield of pollen is to be obtained each Reaper must choose those stems which are about to plow making sure that they are all cut to the same length as this makes them easier to handle grass ripens at different rates successive hot days may not allow time for all the ripe grass to be cut while on cold wet days there may be very few stems available difficulties also arise from contamination by pollen of other grasses and these must be carefully removed Timothy grass of course is not the only pollen producer there are other grasses as well as trees weeds and flowers pollen from all these has to be collected in the pollen production room the grass stems are placed in water trops while the flour matures grass like flowers will not live and pollinate unless kept in water trays are placed between each trough ready to collect the ripe pollen ripening takes from 4 to 10 days depending on the temperature of the production room and on cloudy days artificial heat is used as the grass flowers the pollen is milked into trays this so-called milking process has to be gently carried out to avoid losing the pollen this is usually done three times in alternate Days by this time so few anthers remain to come out that the grass is removed and a new batch put in this worker is walking slowly because the pollen is very light would easily blow about with hurried action during milking anthers as well as pollen have fallen onto the trays these anthers and other debris must now be separated a fairly coarse c is used for this purpose sving is also used to distribute the pollen in a fine layer on the trays this allows thorough drying of the pollen in the laboratory the pollen can be kept in a desicator but here it is affected by the humidity of the atmosphere if the pollen is stored in a damp condition moles will quickly grow on it making it sticky and lumping the trays are kept in open racks in the heated drying room for about 3 days the pollen is then cved again to remove the remaining anthers a specially fine SI is used at this stage this is obviously no place for the hay fever sufferer to work the fine dry pollen is collected onto a piece of paper so that it can conveniently be weighed quantities of 50 or 100 G are poured into glass bottles which are used for transporting it to the laboratory each bottle is labeled with the type of pollen and the date of collection this is copford pollen these bottles contain 1,000 gr the result of a week's work not much perhaps but more grass pollen is produced here than at any other pollinarium now the pollen is brought up to the Laboratories in London where extracts are prepared for the diagnosis and treatment of patients a series of dilutions of the extract are made for clinical use the various strengths are petted into 5cc bottles which are sealed with a rubber cap strengthened with a metal band and labeled finally the bottles are made up into decent sensitizing sets the completed set ready for use by the doctor or patient contains in addition to the vaccines a syring and needle an instruction leaflet and a dosage card for keeping records many thousands of these sets are used by hospitals general practitioners and Clinics everywhere as well as in the eler department at St Mary's Hospital here over 4,000 patients with summer hay fever are seen during February and March some cases the mild ones obtain temporary relief from antihistaminic drugs but many require desensitizing injections diagnosis is made from the history and confirmed by skin tests these are done on the forearm a simple painless procedure a drop of the extract is placed on the skin and a small prick made through it each syringe contains testing fluid from a different pollen the result is measured 15 minutes later note the distinct wheel opposite numbers four and seven this indicates that the patient is sensitive to these two pollen extracts the general principles of investigating and treating pollen sensitivity apply equally well to other allergies of a similar nature such as animal scurf or dry rot this girl's pollen sensitivity has been confirmed by skin tests on the basis of these findings the correct vaccine and dosage is decided as a large number of doses are needed she has taught to give herself these injections at home most patients learn to do this without difficulty and find it more convenient than paying constant visits to the doctor desensitization treatment is best given in the early spring before the pollen comes into the air this girl who as you saw earlier jetted the summertime can now as a result of this course of injections enjoy the country without fear of hay fever [Music] oh oh [Music]