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Spring can be one of the most romantic or most painful seasons, depending on one deciding factor: allergies. If you present one or more of characteristic symptoms such as runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, you may suffer from seasonal allergies.
What are the most common spring allergies?
Outdoor allergies: pollen, dust, dust mites, mold, grasses.
Indoor allergies: pet dander, dust, mold, dust mites.
Other forms of allergy related conditions:
Dry eye symptoms are itchy and watery eyes and occur when one’s body doesn’t produce enough tears to protect the eye and they can be aggravated by environmental allergies such as mold or pollen.
Oral allergy syndrome, or pollen-food syndrome is a certain type of food allergy that manifests in an accumulation of allergic reactions caused by cross-contamination. The pollen contained in certain fresh foods (especially tree nuts, fruits and vegetables) triggers the reaction mainly in adults that suffer from hay fever. Typical symptoms are scratchy throat and tingly mouth.
What happens?
The body’s immune system reacts to an external factor, that is breathing in pollen or any invisible airborne particle (dust, dust mites, mold) stimulates a reaction in the form of any of the symptoms described.
What to do?
First: get tested by a board certified allergist to find out what you are allergic to.
Second: if diagnosed, adjust the environment: reduce exposure, vacuum professionally or use HEPA filters vacuums, don’t open windows at peak time, check the pollen count daily, avoid dusty environments at all costs, keep pets off upholstered furniture and bedrooms, avoid ceiling fans, keep stuffed toys dust-mite free, keep constant indoor humidity between 30% and 45%.
Third: take medications as prescribed and commit to immunotherapy, commonly known as allergy shots.
TRUE OR FALSE
- Cut flowers make me sneeze: true, if those are “male” flowers, the ones that carry the pesky pollen; false, if they are flowers without allergic pollen; the colorful flowers that usually form the beautiful bouquets don’t contain pollen.
- The “local honey” theory: if you are allergic to pollen, you should ingest small quantity of honey produced locally to keep allergies at bay. In theory the idea is based on the same concept on which immunotherapy is based, that is, getting exposed to what your body reacts to, builds your immune system. There’s a practical difference: there’s no scientific formula that certifies which pollens are contained in the pot of honey vs. when receiving an allergy shot one receives the singled-out allergen that causes the allergy.
