The recent burning of Flint Hills grasslands sent many to Alphacare at Geary Community Hospital for help dealing with sinus and respiratory illness.

Family Nurse Practitioner Theresa Stewart said she’s seen an increased number of people with allergic rhinitis in lieu of the grassland burning that has taken place in the region.

“A lot of [the treatment for that] is just conservative care just encouraging people to use their air conditioners, close their windows, doing preventative mechanisms; with some of the people who are actually showing signs of allergy we’re doing some steroid treatments, and we’re also doing some cough treatments,” said Stewart.

Stewart noted that those with pre-existing respiratory disorders or issues are among those hit the hardest by the grassland burning.

The heaviest burning this month occurred on April 10th and 11th, and some patients are still being seen for residual cases.

“Some people were just kind of getting early on into their symptoms, and now as we’re getting toward the ends of the burning they’re coming in because their symptoms haven’t been resolved,” said Stewart.

During the weeks with high intensity grassland burning, Alphacare was seeing about 10 to 15 people per day with related symptoms, according to Stewart.

Grassland burning is a way to reduce the spread of cedar trees and manage the tallgrass prairie.