- [Narrator] Tonight on "WPBS Weekly Inside The Stories" summer is fast approaching and with it comes summer allergies.

Discover some tips and techniques that may help reduce your suffering.

And speaking of the outdoors, we're back with 1000 Islands wanderer.

Mitch Beatty, discover where he takes us next.

Plus, former Syracuse resident Scott Bravo visits the WPBS studios with his original acoustic work.

Your stories, your region.

Coming up right now on "WPBS Weekly Inside The Stories" (upbeat music) - [Narrator 2] "WPBS Weekly Inside The Stories" is brought to you by... - [Narrator 3] When you're unable to see your primary care provider.

The Carthage Walk-in clinic is here for you.

Located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and Healing close to home when you need it most.

(soft music) - [Narrator 4] North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us, North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- [Narrator 5] We are the north country where protecting one another like family is who we are and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the north country strong at claxtonhepburn.org today.

- [Narrator 2] And the Dr. D Susan Badenhausen Legacy Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation.

Additional funding from the New York State Education Department.

- Good Tuesday evening everyone, and welcome to this edition of "WPBS Weekly Inside The Stories".

I'm Michael Rickey, with summer just around the bend.

No doubt many of us are already dreading the allergies that come with it, but there are ways to manage those allergies while still enjoying all that the north country has to offer.

Producer Luke Smith has more.

(soft music) - Yes, thank you Michael.

And as you mentioned, we're getting into the summer season.

It's starting to get warm and some people are starting to get those snifflies, the allergies, the whatever you might have lately.

And to talk to us about it today we have Dr. Dariusz Chrostowski, an allergist based right here in Watertown.

Doctor, it's a pleasure having you today and welcome to WPBS.

- Thank you for having me.

- And I wanna get the ball rolling right away and ask you some quick questions, starting with what are some common summer allergies we see going into the hot summer months?

- Yeah, so we are already in tree pollen season now.

Tree pollen season started already a few weeks ago and pollen counts are creeping up over the past week since we've got a good weather this past weekend.

You know, we see significant increase in symptoms.

Patients are complaining, patients are calling our practice, patients are requesting refills, patients are requesting medication adjustment.

So, tree pollen season, that's the season that we are experiencing now.

And pretty soon in May, you know, we'll have the grass pollen season starting also.

- And so what are the common symptoms when these seasons start to roll around?

What are the common symptoms that people can expect when they start feeling these allergies?

- Congestion, of course.

Lots of... Rhinorrhea congestion, runny nose, itching, sneezing, classic histamine driven reactions, but patients develop, so yeah, you know, patients are definitely complaining.

Patients are definitely experiencing significant exacerbations of symptoms.

Patient request help and that's what we are trying to provide.

- What are some preventative measures somebody can take when they're looking to treat their summer allergies?

Like some of the symptoms that you just mentioned?

- You know, the first thing I think what is important is to diagnose allergies properly because not all patients that have rhinitis, because when we talk about allergies, you know, we call allergic rhinitis allergic, but not all rhinitis problems, not all rhinitis symptoms that patients develop automatically allergic.

So it's important to diagnose the patients properly.

So, that's where my role comes, you know, that patients come to my office and we try to assess the patient's problem and we try to find out if the symptoms that the patient is experiencing are truly allergic or not.

So that's where the proper history comes, you know, to assess the patients.

We ask patients questions related to severity of symptoms, quality of symptoms, reproducibility with exposure to specific triggers and allergens.

And with the seasonal allergies, of course we expect to see seasonal pattern not only this year but the years before.

So, proper assessment of the patient is very important.

That starts with the history.

We examine the patients and we have tools in our office that are helpful to assess the patient's allergies.

So we test, you know, we possibly talk a little bit about the testing, how we assess patients, what tools we have.

And based on that workup we come up with conclusion, how to help patients.

So we have clearly medications that can be very helpful.

There are different groups of medications that we use.

Antihistamines can help with itching, sneezing.

The classic allergy symptoms that patient experience, nasal spray are very helpful for congestion and drip and drainage and sinus pressure and headaches that patients develop with seasonal allergy symptoms.

And we have eye drops available for severe ocular symptoms.

So a large number of patients with pollen allergy will experience significant ocular symptoms also.

And the eyedrops are necessary to help with ocular symptoms.

So that's where we come, that's the medication that can help and that can significantly improve symptom control for large number of patients.

And if that is not helping, we also have immunotherapy that is very effective for patients with allergies and patients that don't respond well to the medications.

Patients that don't want to stay on medications forever.

Those are the patients that really can benefit from allergy injections and that's something that is found to be very effective.

- You also mentioned when we spoke to set the interview up, you mentioned that these allergies may happen during the summer, but they could also have longer lasting effects.

Can you tell me a little bit about those lingering effects that happen post having these allergies?

- You know, I think, you know, the comorbidity, right?

So allergies, you know, can definitely, you know, are not only responsible for the classic allergy symptoms that patients presents with.

So, you know, when we think about allergies, it's this acute onset of symptoms.

Patients are sneezing, itching, congested, you know, just miserable at the time when the pollen is high.

But, you know, there are some additional things to consider here.

And that's effect of allergies on comorbidities.

You know, lots of patients with allergies have asthma and allergies can definitely contribute and exacerbate asthma control affect, you know, we have patients with asthma that actually asthma exacerbates during the pollen season.

The seasonal asthma patients, eczema can get worse with high pollen.

We've got patients with atopic dermatitis, with eczema, with flareups at the specific seasons, at the specific time of the year.

And you know, in children infections, ear infections, sinus infections, we see lots of children with chronic ill fluid during the peak pollen season when the allergy symptoms exacerbate.

So, it's not only about the nose, you know, nasal symptoms are only a part of the problem or the mucus membranes and all the whole body wellbeing of the patient is very important and allergies can contribute to so many different additional conditions and can affect the patient's life in many more ways than just the nasal symptoms.

You know, there is a syndrome, you know, called oral allergy syndrome, you know, that's the type of the food allergy that patients with severe pollen allergy develop.

So, sometimes we see patients with the chief compliant of food allergy.

Patients come to our office saying, oh doctor, I'm allergic to apples or some other fruits and you know, I don't know what's going on, you know, why am I developing this food allergy here?

And you know, and the reason for that type of the fruit allergy is the severe pollen allergy.

There is a similar allergen in the fruit and in the pollen particle and the cross reactivity between the pollen and the fruit triggers allergic reactions in the patients with severe pollen allergy.

So 20 to 30% of the patients with severe pollen allergy will develop reactions to fruits and vegetables.

So for example, like now we have the tree pollen season, you know, that is starting and within the next few weeks we will see significant increase in symptoms scores.

Patients start complaining more, you know, the weather is going to dry up, you know, so we will start seeing patients with allergies coming to our office.

And a large number of this of the patients with pollen allergy will tell me, oh, I cannot eat fresh apples.

I cannot eat peaches or I have problems with kiwis.

And the reason for that is the cross reactivity between birch, it's a tree pollen and the allergen in that fruit.

So it's a form of food allergy that patients with pollen allergy develop.

And we see quite a number of patients, it's 20 to 30% of the patients with pollen allergy that develop this type of the reactions to fruits and vegetables.

So three pollen cross reacts with apple, cherry, peaches, ragweed allergic patients, patients that develop symptoms in the fall, like August, September usually have problems with melons and bananas.

Grass pollen, grass season is going to start in May, mid May, end of May.

Patients with grasses will have problems with oranges, and tomatoes for example.

So it's kind of interesting because, you know, some patients come to us complaining of the fruit allergy problem and they want to find out why.

Some patients come to us with mostly rhinitis problems and are mostly concerned about the allergy symptoms.

But we are finding out that those patients also have problem with fruits and vegetables.

You know, allergies can affect you on a different levels and it's always a challenge to research, to properly diagnose problems in patient.

And, you know, ultimately our goal is to help the patients long term.

- Now this past winter was incredibly warm, like it was February and I was wearing shorts.

But I wonder does that have any effect when it comes to seasonal allergies?

Does that exacerbate, does that accelerate any allergies that are common for people going into the summer?

- Climate change, you know, is responsible for shorter and warmer winters and you know, this frost free time is definitely significantly longer now than it used to be 30, 40, 50 years ago.

You know, I think I saw some data that shows this frost free free time increased by 11 days since 1970.

So, that translates to a much longer pollen season.

Pollen season start usually much, much earlier than they used to start before, last longer.

And also plants produce significantly more pollen as a result of this warming in the weather.

So, yes, our patients with pollen allergy are experiencing more symptoms, symptoms stay longer, patients are more miserable as a result.

And, you know, this warmer weather this past winter is translating to increase in this recent debacle that we are dealing in the office.

We are getting significantly more referrals over the past few weeks as a result of the patient's developing symptoms.

- Now going into this summer, as we up leave May into June, what are some advice you have for somebody to be conscious of summer allergies and to take care of themselves going into the season?

- You know, I think, you know, patients should be conscious about, you know, the allergy problem.

You know, like you know your body best and you know, and allergies are usually reproducible.

So if you know that, you know, every spring, every summer you develop symptoms, I think you want to prepare for it.

So it's very important, you know, to adjust the lifestyle according to your allergies.

You know, I think, you know, if you know that every spring or every summer you develop symptoms, you know, you want to adjust your activity to it.

You want to be conscious about hand washing, you want to be conscious about not sleeping with the open window and the pollen counts are high.

I think, you know, we have access to tools that give you an idea how high the pollen is in the air during specific time of the year.

So all of those things can give you some idea, you know, you know how you want to prepare to it.

And there is an access to medications.

So clearly starting medications on time is very rational, very reasonable.

You don't want to start your nasal sprays too late.

You know, we know that the patients with severe allergies do better if they start medications before onset of season when you're already congested and stuffy and drippy, nasal sprays may not work so well.

So you really want to start those nasal spray early enough to control the symptoms, not allow the symptoms to get out of control.

Antihistamines, you should have access to antihistamines, use them consistently daily, that can help you with, with the ocular symptoms, nasal symptoms, eyedrops may be helpful.

So you want to prepare yourself.

I think you want to have access to the medications.

You want to start medications early enough.

You have to be conscious about implementing proper avoidance measures.

And if that is not helping, you know, like, you know, look for medical help, you know, assessing allergies better, being tested for allergies give can give you the answer what you're allergic to, you know, can give you some better understanding of the allergy problem.

You can direct avoidance measures a little bit better, you can have a better understanding what is the trigger of the symptoms that you currently have.

So, you know, like it's just important to you know, not to forget about it, not to wake up too late because when the symptoms are already bad and severe, it may be difficult for you to get those symptoms back in under control.

- Well we appreciate your time, doctor.

Thank you for coming to the studio to talk to us about allergies and we really appreciate your time.

Thank you so much for coming today.

- Thank you.

- Filmmaker Mitch Beatie has been bouncing around the 1000 Islands in Gananoque for months, finding new stories with fascinating people in some interesting places.

Tonight he takes us inside a beautiful art studio to share pieces of regional art.

(soft music) - [Interviewer] Tell me a little bit about the story.

Try to keep it okay as short as possible.

- Oh, okay.

- [Interviewer] While still... - I'm just trying to get it over with.

(birds chirping) (soft music) - Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of A Thousand Islands Wander.

The inspiration behind a bunch of this artwork has a pretty cool story, so let's let the pros talk about it.

And again, you don't have to listen to me.

- So Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist.

She was bedridden for I guess over a year, prior to that she had had polio as well.

She wasn't able to go anywhere, she wasn't able to move, she wasn't able to do anything.

So her mother gave her these paints and a mirror for her to just sort of have fun and to keep her her mind busy.

She thought, well, wouldn't it be fun to try and creating portraits of women dressed as Frida Kahlo?

I just thought it would be interesting and fun.

(soft music) And I've been following these women who seem to, for me, exude a Frida Kahlo essence.

I met Heather about a year ago, just over a year ago, and saw her work and fell in love with it because it was so beautiful.

She found out about my work that I've been working on, on my Finding Frida series that I've been working on for the last nine years and wanted to paint it.

And I said, absolutely, yes.

And it was such a knee jerk response.

I didn't even even have a chance.

So I gave her my entire body of work.

- So when we came outta the pandemic last year, I was... where am I gonna show this work?

I wasn't interested in renting anymore.

I wasn't interested in having a nine to five storefront.

We had done that, it's a big commitment and I had this idea that we could split the house in two and it might just work.

- Hi, my name's Jeff Montgomery and I am the...

I gonna say self appointed gallery director for Heather Haynes Gallery.

And I'm also married to Heather Haynes.

- [Interviewer] The paintings earlier are all yours, and the photographs are all Virginia's, is that correct then?

- Yes, yes, but they're her images I'm using.

So her images are the jumping off point.

January, February, I was very intensely creating and I dropped out out of the rest of the world.

- She sort of sequestered herself in her studio for a month and a half and I tried not to bother her at all, except for bringing her drinks, food, things that she needed to survive out there.

- My mom was in her home as obsessed and in her creative zone flow as I was making rug hooks of flowers, human hearts, and even fetuses that I've incorporated in the paintings.

I would say one of the highlights of the experience was collaborating with my mom.

And I don't think she thinks of herself as an artist, but she really is an amazing artist.

(soft music) You're sort of walking into a portal when you arrive, and we've created a space where we have incense burning.

So there's a scent, you're sort of encompassed and then visually, of course, you are being affected.

- When you come into the gallery, we ask that you sort of leave your worries, your troubles, your day behind and take a few breaths, et cetera, and then maybe pick out a Frida quote, something to think about while you are viewing these pieces of work.

So this one she wrote, "I am that clumsy human, always loving, loving, loving and loving and never leaving."

- So the gallery is open Thursday to Sunday, 11 till 4 each week.

We also can take appointments if you're in town and you wanna see the project.

So come check us out.

If in the meantime you want to look at my website, heatherhaynes.com as well as on Instagram, Heather-_Haynes-_artist.

So we are just off the main street, just around the corner from the second lights on the main street, King Street and Charles Street, just head north one and a half blocks and you'll see us, there's a bright pink door and it says, Finding Frida.

(soft music) - Finally tonight, central New York, native Scott Bravo has been strumming guitar strings for over three decades.

Now, a New York City resident and musician.

He comes back home to share what inspires him and why he chooses music to express himself.

(drum riffing) - I'm Scott Bravo, I live in New York City and I'm a musician.

I am from Syracuse, I'm from everywhere, but I spent my early years Syracuse area and I ended up in New York City.

Why not?

Why not go to New York City?

I have a picture of me, when I was three years old, the first time I saw a guitar, just like the look on my face holding it.

I just knew there was something about this thing.

And then throughout my life I'd picked up guitars from that friends had.

And I just knew that I felt something when I held a guitar.

And when I was 15 I got my first guitar and that was all I did, that was it.

I really wasn't good at anything else.

I wasn't really great at sports, I wasn't so great at school, but I just, I loved playing guitar and I never took lessons and I learned by...

I had books, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, scale books and I would just play along with the records and the more I played, the more I could hear what different chords were so I could listen to other songs and sort of pick through them and figure it out.

And then I joined a cover band when I was probably 17 and I had to sneak out and go play in bars at night every now and again.

So that was fun.

So finger pickers use all their fingers, flat pickers, use just a pick.

And I use a pick and one finger, three fingers, like a sloth.

So that's sort of my own, that's why I don't sound like anybody else.

I don't sound like a finger picker, I don't sound like a flat picker.

I've got sort of my own thing 'cause I can't do either and get the sounds I want.

So, and the sloth is sort of like my spirit animal, you know, they sleep all the time.

They're just chill.

I'm a pretty chill guy.

I think, so sloth style.

I'm Scott Bravo.

And this is "The Juice".

(guitar music) - That does it for us this Tuesday night.

Join us next time for a fresh look, inside the stories.

Discover more about the Jefferson-Lewis Childcare Project.

It offers potential childcare providers education, startup grants, and more.

And visiting the Thousand Islands has never been so sweet.

Filmmaker Mitch Beatie takes us inside the walls of a local chocolatier.

Also, the L-T five played an important role in the invasion of Normandy.

Today it sits at the H Lee White Maritime Museum in Oswego in need of restoration.

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like us to explore, we'd love to learn more.

Drop us an email at WPBSweekly@wpbstv.org and let's share it with the region.

That's it for tonight, we'll see you soon.

Take care everyone, have a great night.

(soft music) - [Narrator 2] "WPBS Weekly Inside The Stories" is brought to you by... - [Narrator 3] When you're unable to see your primary care provider.

The Carthage Walk-in clinic is here for you.

Located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and healing close to home when you need it most.

(soft music) - [Narrator 4] North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us.

North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

(soft music) - [Narrator 5] We are the north country we're protecting one another like family is who we are and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the north country strong at claxtonhepburn.org today.

- [Narrator 2] And the Dr. D, Susan Badenhauden Legacy Fund of the Northern New York Community Foundation.

Additional funding from the New York State Education Department.

(guitar music) (soft music)