Doctor ready to fight athletes' runny noses

By KATHERINE HOBY

Something other than pride will be in the air at the Sydney Olympics - and at least a third of our athletes will be keen to avoid it.

During what will be only the second Olympics to be held in spring, pollen levels are expected to affect large numbers of hayfever sufferers.



The leader of the Games health team, Dr Chris Milne, said about a third of the 200 New Zealanders competing would be affected to varying degrees by hayfever or related conditions.

He is packing a suitcase full of sprays, pills and antihistamines - all allowable medications - ready to combat the nasties in the air.

Dr Milne said athletes had been undergoing physical examinations over the past weeks that would expose allergy issues.

Some competitors who had not previously had any trouble could be susceptible to new problems, but "we are expecting fewer surprises than in the heat of [the 1996 Games in] Atlanta."

Temperatures in Sydney would range between 15 and 25 degrees.

Everything from a sniffle to a full-blown allergy attack would be dealt with quickly.

"We want to do everything we can to get our fine men and women to the start line in premium condition - without the drag and indignity of a runny nose."

Dr David Gerrard, professor of sports medicine at Otago University's Medical School, will also be in Sydney.

He has represented New Zealand at previous Olympics as an athlete, team doctor and chef de mission.

Dr Gerrard said allergies, hayfever or asthma could be debilitating for a top athlete who had prepared perhaps four years for the Games.

"What is trivial to a normal person can be crippling for someone who is about to run the race of their life," he said.

Athletes who did suffer from complaints such as hayfever had to be educated against the risks of taking medications that might contain banned substances.

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