There is no doubt that at certain times of the year, pollens cause many people a distressing array of symptoms. These include hay fever, mucous, red eyes that itch intolerably, overheating and great tiredness. At times, particularly at night, difficulty in breathing may also be experienced.
As far back as 1867, Dr Charles Blackley of Manchester, noted that when pollen was placed on the skin it caused itching and swelling to some people. When pollen is inhaled, it makes contact with the mucous membrane, lining the nose, and absorbs water from the mucous. A substance, not yet identified, dissolves from the pollen and enters the bloodstream through the mucous membrane. It then becomes an antigen which the white cells and antibodies of the immune system would normally destroy.
In the case of an allergic person, the immune system does not destroy the pollen antigen. The presence of the antigen causes the mast cells, which are laden with histamine and other chemicals, to break up and release a flood of histamine to the affected areas. The excessive histamine causes both localised symptoms in the initial areas of contact and general symptoms throughout the body. The former being hay fever, runny nose, etc. and the latter, the accompanying tiredness and lethargy.
Pollens become a problem mainly during spring and also in autumn owing to some plants, chiefly wild grasses, flowering twice a year. As pollens are carried on the wind, it makes little difference whether a sufferer be a country or a city dweller, the allergic reaction will be the same. Fungal spores from plant parasites on grain crops can also trigger allergic reactions in pollen-sensitive people.
Obviously, avoiding exposure to pollens is extremely difficult, apart from staying indoors with the windows closed during the bad times of the year. It is possible, however, for many people to find relief through a programme of desensitization from a medical allergist. This is given, following a series of skin tests, to ascertain the various types of pollens causing the allergy.
Medication, such as antihistamine tablets and decongestant sprays may be used to seek occasional, temporary relief. These preparations do not cure but simply palliate symptoms to make life a little easier for the sufferer. Beware of prolonged use! In the United States, doctors now suspect that thousands of people have become addicted to nasal sprays. If used too often to constrict blood vessels that have become dilated by histamine, natural constriction ceases to happen efficiently and the nose can become permanently blocked.
While it may not be possible to eliminate symptoms completely, a clean diet and avoidance of allergenic foods and chemicals will assist the immune system to cope better with pollen allergies.
Author's Sites: Health Articles, Home Remedies and Self Help.
Pollens and Allergy
Do You Suffer From Allergies?
An 'allergy' is basically when your body reacts in a sensitive way to a substance that most other people do not react to. There are a number of substances in the environment which can cause allergic reactions which may vary from a mild reaction to violent reactions.
Allergies can range from intolerance to certain foods and substances to reactions resulting from pollution. Reactions can occur immediately, within a few minutes or may even be delayed for several hours or even several days. These reactions can occur in any part of the body but most commonly occur in the nose, eyes, ears, skin, chest or intestines.
Symptoms of allergy can be quite varied and may include:
Recurring
headache
Migraine
Dizziness
Irritability
Depression
Neuralgia
Sneezing
Conjunctivitis
Eczema
Heart burn
Hay fever
Indigestion
Constipation
Diarrhoea
Asthma
Stuffy or runny nose
Shortness of breath
Swelling of the face and eyes
The same allergic substance may cause different symptoms in different people.
Causes
Having an allergic reaction may indicate a lower resistance and possible internal disharmony caused by a bad diet and lifestyle. They can be caused in babies by feeding them some foods too early, such as cereal, meat, corn, eggs, honey, whole milk, before they reach the age of 10 to 12 months of age. Babies are yet to develop the proper enzymes needed for their digestion and therefore can become allergic to those foods.
Another possible cause for an increase in allergies is that many foods today contain numerous chemicals, preservatives and additives. It is believed that allergic symptoms are often the body's reaction to stress. If a person suffers from chronic stress they may become sensitive to some common foods or substances and therefore emotional and psychological stress can lead to allergies.
Treatment
The first thing you need to do to treat your allergy is to identify the source. You can treat many mild allergic reactions without knowing the source, but for severe allergic reactions the source must be know so you can avoid the source.
Even with minor allergic reactions it can help in the long term to know what you are reacting to. In some cases you may have an immediate reaction which will make it easy to identify the substance you are allergic to. Often however it may not be immediate and it can be quite difficult to pinpoint exactly what is giving you the reaction. Once you have discovered the source of your allergic reaction, try to avoid the substance if it is possible.
It is also possible in many cases to build up immunity to the substance. To do this it is quite important to build good general health and immune system. A good way to start building your immunity is to fast on fresh fruit juices for four or five days. Repeat this fast from time to time will result in a better tolerance to substances that you previously didn't tolerate.
After the fruit juice fast, have a diet of vegetables or fruits such as carrots, grapes or apples, for one week. After that more food is added to the diet. A week later the third food is added and so on. After four weeks, the protein foods can be introduced, one at a time. If there is an allergic reaction to a newly introduced food, it should be discontinued and a new food tried. In this way all real allergens can be eventually eliminated from the diet.
In Chinese medicine it has been found that five drops of castor oil in a little juice or water taken on an empty stomach in the morning can be highly beneficial for allergies in the skin and nasal passages.
For more information on allergy relief make sure to visit http://www.waystogetridofallergies.com/, a popular website that provides information on relieving symptoms of allergens.
