The new school year means new clothes, new classes, new teachers - and the same old misery due to sneezing and wheezing for children who have allergies or asthma. From the class hamster to dust mites residing in carpet to germs from cold and flu viruses, asthma and allergy triggers lurk throughout the classroom.

Considered the most allergenic of all pollens, ragweed pops up throughout the East and Midwest starting in mid-August. One plant alone can produce up to one billion pollen grains, and each grain can travel more than 100 miles. One in 10 Americans is affected by the sniffling, sneezing and itching of ragweed allergies. Dr. Steven McEldowney of Allergy and Asthma Care of Blakeney is an allergist, a doctor who specializes in treating people with hay fever, as well as asthma and other allergies. Dr. McEldowney and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) suggest those who suffer from hay fever follow these six steps for relief

Spring and summer bring bees, wasps, hornets, fire ants and yellow jackets and, this year, updated advice for those who are allergic to these stinging insects. More than half a million people go to emergency rooms and at least 50 die each year from insect stings, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).