Rhinitis Treatment Care

Hay fever is also known as pollinosis or seasonal allergic rhinitis. For most people, a single allergen sets their symptoms off at about the same time each year. Spring attacks are usually due to tree pollen (not hay), while grass pollens dominate in the summer and weed pollens in the autumn.

Causes of Hay Fever

Hay fever is an atopic or allergic disease like asthma. This means the body tends to overreact to certain types of outside particles. One way it overreacts is by releasing histamine, a chemical present in many important animal cells. Histamine is a major cause of the symptoms of hay fever including sneezing, runny nose, and even coughing. Hay fever, like asthma, can be inherited. People inherit the general tendency to be allergic but not always specific allergies. For example, if a mother has hay fever to ragweed, her child is at an increased risk of hay fever, but the child may be allergic to other allergens. Children have a 30% chance of developing hay fever if one of their parents is affected and a 50% chance if both have hay fever.

These are some of the pollens most likely to cause an allergic reaction:

1. Spring: tree pollens such as oak, elm, maple, alder, birch, juniper, and olive
2. Summer: grass pollens such as Bermuda, timothy, sweet vernal, orchard, and Johnson; and weed pollens like Russian thistle and English plantain
3. Fall: weed pollens, especially ragweed

Symptoms and Complications of Hay Fever

Most people with hay fever know they have it. The symptoms are unmistakable – runny nose, sneezing, itching, and congestion. Other common symptoms include watery eyes, coughing, headaches, and irritability.

Hay fever usually appears regularly at the same time each year. This is how people can distinguish it from other allergies such as to house dust mites or cat dander. Another difference is while hay fever often causes red eyes, “indoor allergies” tend to leave the eyes alone but can cause minor blockage of the ears, particularly in children.

An important way to recognize hay fever is to remember exactly when the symptoms appear and disappear. Knowing these dates will give your doctor or allergist vital clues as to what’s provoking the symptoms.

Tips For Preventing Hay Fever

Prevention of hay fever may be possible if people learn to control their environment. Someone can help prevent or alleviate symptoms by avoiding exposure to allergens that cause all the miserable sneezing and itching. Here are some helpful tips for hay fever sufferers:

1. Keep windows closed and use air conditioning at home and in the car to reduce exposure to outdoor pollens. If using air conditioning, keep the unit on the indoor cycle.
2. Limit or avoid doing outdoor activities during peak pollen hours (between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m.). Check daily pollen counts on TV or the internet, or in the newspaper.
3. If you are outdoors for extended periods of time, make sure to shower and change clothes and shoes to avoid further contact with residual pollen.
4. Don’t mow lawns or rake leaves. These activities stir up pollen and mold.
5. Don’t dry sheets or clothes outdoors; they may trap with pollen and mold.