What causes an allergic reaction to pollen?

An allergy is the body’s oversensitive response to something in its environment. As a person breathes in pollen, the immune system goes on alert and detects an intruder. The immune system then unleashes a barrage of chemicals to protect the body. One of these chemicals is histamine which is what produces the sneezing, watery eyes and itching.

How can a person protect herself from pollen?

There are quite a few things a person can do to protect herself. The best protection is to avoid pollen by staying indoors in air conditioning during the season that most affects that person. That is not always possible, however. When the allergy sufferer leaves the house, she should drive with the windows up and the air conditioning running. She should leave her pets outside as pollen can collect on her pet and affect her. If they are indoor pets, she needs to be sure that they are washed frequently and that they stay off of her bed. She should wash her hair every day as pollen can collect there also.

Where can a person in the United States go be free of allergy symptoms?

Pollen allergies are very common throughout the United States, but different areas of the country experience different pollen seasons. For the people of the Midwest, Eastern and Southern United States, pollens causing allergy symptoms in the spring are from certain trees such as elm, oak, birch, maple, alder, olive and juniper. In addition, early summer pollen allergies there are caused by bluegrass, timothy, orchard and redtop grasses. In the late summer and early fall, the pollen problem is ragweed.

Western United States has pollen allergies from December through March from mountain cedar. Southwestern United States, because of its dry nature, has a longer grass pollen allergy problem. In the fall this area has other pollen allergy issues because of sagebrush and Russian thistle, common weeds to the Southwest. No matter where people live in the United States, there will be pollens that cause allergy symptoms.

How can a person minimize her allergy symptoms?

Most people have allergies that respond to over-the-counter treatments. Anti-histamines help control the symptoms, but they can cause people to be drowsy. Decongestants help relieve some of the congestion caused by the allergies, but they are not good for people with high blood pressure.

If these products do not give the sufferer enough relief, her doctor can prescribe medications that will most likely help. Some people do not get adequate relief from these prescriptions, and it would be important for these people to talk to their doctors about immunotherapy, or allergy shots. Immunotherapy can last for an extended period, but about a third of those who get them are cured after the course of their treatment (1).

How serious are seasonal allergies?

For most people, allergy symptoms are just irritating. It is a quality-of-life issue more than a life-threatening condition. For a very few, however, allergies can be life-threatening.

The more people are exposed to allergens, the more severe the reaction. Those with allergy issues need to be speaking to an allergist/immunologist on how to best manage their symptoms. In addition, there are some excellent natural remedies that people should try to alleviate allergy problems.

References:

(1) http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1998/298_nose.html