Hay Fever
Red eyes, sneezing, and runny noses. No, it’s not the flu. It’s that yearly nuisance come back again. Hay fever! If it is not actually caused from hay nor does it cause a fever then just what is hay fever?
Hay fever is the frequently used name for the seasonal allergic rhinitis. There are some people who suffer 
from allergies on a daily basis that are caused by things such as dust, animals, or feathers. However, hay fever is seasonal and is most commonly caused by pollen from various plants. Outdoor allergens are the most difficult to control since they are all over, especially at the time of year when you spend most of the day enjoying the fresh air.
Hay fever is more widespread in Western countries; in fact, according to statistics, it’s the most common allergy in the US. Why do some people suffer from hay fever so badly, others mildly, while others don’t suffer at all? Doctors believe that it may well be hereditary. It also seems that those who suffer from asthma or eczema are more prone to develop hay fever or other allergies.
So what causes hay fever?
Well, the number one cause of hay fever is grass pollen. There are many different types of pollen, with some being more allergic than others. Although grass pollen affects close to 95% of hay fever sufferers, there are still plenty of other guilty parties such as tree and shrub pollen, including birch and oak, some types of mold and weeds too.
To what extent someone is affected depends somewhat on where they live. Ragweed, for example, which gives off close to 8 billion pollen grains in only five hours, is very rare in countries such as England, but very common in almost all of the 50 states of the US. How badly the hay fever is depends as well on the pollen count. Pollen count is typically higher on hot, dry days than on the cooler, rainy days, and also late in the evenings and early mornings.
When the body comes in contact with an ‘allergen’, the immune system will jump into action. The body decides that the allergen, be it dust, pollen, or chemical fibers, is an invader. The immune system will then produce weapons, called histamines, to fight the invaders. Once the body has prepared these histamines, the next time it comes in contact with the allergen, the body releases its weapons.
The histamines are the ones that cause all the nasty symptoms that are associated with hay fever. The nose will usually swell up, in an effort to prevent the allergen from entering the body and a sneeze is the body’s attempt to push the invader out. In more severe cases, there will be coughing and difficulty in breathing. You can start suffering from hay fever at any age, but usually people develop symptoms early on in life.
As of yet, there is no real cure for hay fever. Trying to stay out of the way of the pollen that activates hay 
fever is the best way to prevent it. If that means staying indoors with the windows and doors closed when the pollen count is high, especially early morning and late evening then so be it. In the event that you do have to leave, doctors advise wearing wrap around glasses in order to protect your eyes, and dabbing some petroleum jelly under the nostrils. Lawn mowing and field wandering are no-nos for hay fever sufferers.
Staying locked up all spring and summer long is not a solution. That is why, should you succumb to hay fever, there are a nice amount of treatments available. Antihistamines are the most used treatment. There are also all sorts of nasal sprays, creams, drops and lots of less well-known homeopathic treatments. For some people, even things like magnets and rubber bracelets, work wonders. But, until the doctors come up with a real cure, looks like we’ll just have to hope and pray that the pollen count lays low!
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Old Comments
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