3 Ws of Hay Fever
The warmth of summer is best enjoyed outdoors only if you aren’t plagued by hay fever. The term originated in England as people believed that some kind of unknown release from new hay gave rise to the disease. In fact nowadays you don’t have to wait for summer, one can easily contract hay fever any time of the year with so much pollutants floating in the air.
Whom to Blame?
This might be hard for tree lovers but to a certain degree trees are to be blamed for it. The most common cause of hay fever is exposure to pollen. The Imperial Valley Child Asthma Program has in fact advised people suffering from asthma to use artificial Christmas trees instead of original as certain varieties of Christmas trees produce high levels of pollen and can bring about serious attacks of asthma.
But plants aren’t the only one to be blamed. Other allergens like dust mites, dander and dust particles are equally responsible for triggering hay fever. In fact according to a research by Allergy UK 58% of allergy sufferers in UK are infected by dust mites.
What are the Symptoms?
Itchy nose, ears and palate accompanied by watery eyes, running nose and excessive sneezing are some of the typical symptoms of hay fever. But these are just the beginning symptoms; prolonged exposure to allergens can quickly turn a simple sneeze into a serious medical condition.
The symptoms can be divided into three categories- mild, medium and severe. Mild symptom is bearable; it’s like catching common cold. But the medium and severe symptoms are irritating and cause a great deal of uneasiness and interfere with daily activities. Lack of sleep, feeling laid back, unable to perform daily activities are some of the effects that one is likely to encounter.
What’s the Cure?
Prevention is the best cure, you may have heard this several times but in this case this is the best cure. The best way to stay away from hay fever is to avoid allergens. As for medical treatments corticosteroids and antihistamines are recommended but only if they are prescribed by a registered medical practitioner. There are certain other non-medical ways of staying away from hay fever such as using sprays, hypo allergenic bed covers and duvet covers and anti-allergic pillow covers.
There are certain OTC drugs available for hay fever, antihistamines being the most commonly used one. Although it provides relief from certain hay fever symptoms such as itching, sneezing and runny nose but it is unable to clear nasal blockage.
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