Spring is sometimes allergic. Such an allergy can appear at any age and is always surprising. This year it is more of a nuisance because, after a long winter, sudden warming has caused several plant species to start pollinating at the same time.
Allergic rhinitis is caused most often by pollen of plants, but also by house dust, animal hair, wool, etc. It intensifies in spring and summer, when plant pollen is the highest. More and more people suffer from this ailment. At the beginning of the XNUMXth century, allergy was seen as a rare disease. Currently, there is more and more talk about an epidemic. City dwellers are more at risk because pollen is polluted with exhaust fumes there, which makes them more allergenic.
hay fever
The characteristic symptoms of hay fever are: runny nose, itchy nose and frequent sneezing. The eyes may be red and watery and there is a headache. The same goes for a runny nose resulting from an infection. That is why ENT specialists emphasize that any runny nose that lasts more than 10 days requires consultation with a doctor. Characteristic for hay fever is the seasonality of occurrence and the intensification of symptoms during contact with the allergen, e.g. during a walk in the park in the case of an allergy to pollen, or during cleaning in the case of allergy to dust mites. Your doctor can diagnose hay fever based on your symptoms, and may also order allergy tests – skin tests or blood tests. A nasal swab is also used to determine the amount of eosinophilia – a large number of them may indicate allergic rhinitis. Hay fever cannot be cured, but it can relieve symptoms. However, it should not be taken lightly as it can cause chronic sinusitis. Moreover, undiagnosed allergy often ends in bronchial asthma.
Antihistamines
If we are unable to avoid allergens, we must protect ourselves against them. For this, antihistamines are used. You should start taking them two weeks before the pollen season starts. They will then manage to block the release of histamine, a substance produced by the body in contact with the allergen, which is responsible for swelling, itching, sneezing and tearing. During the pollen season, it is worth rinsing your nose with special drops that remove allergens and protect the mucosa. It is best to do this after returning from a walk. Before going outside, you can also protect your nose with drops containing ectoine – a natural molecule produced by microorganisms living in extremely unfavorable conditions, e.g. geysers, salt lakes, deserts. It has a protective and stabilizing effect on human cells, perfectly moisturizes and facilitates the regeneration of the nasal mucosa. That is why it is used in the case of allergies of the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes to protect them, among others, against allergens. Also, special eye drops can be used to prevent and treat the symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis. They reduce the severity of symptoms during the allergic season, especially by reducing itching and watery eyes.
Treatment of allergies
If the allergic symptoms worsen, nasal decongestants are sometimes required, and steroids are sometimes added. However, it must be remembered that both decongestant nasal drops and steroid drugs cannot be used for too long. Therefore, when catarrh is severe, it is worth undergoing immunotherapy, i.e. desensitizing treatment. It consists in giving an allergic person gradually increasing and then maintenance doses of the vaccine containing the allergen to which the patient is allergic. Immunotherapy applied in the early stage of the disease inhibits the development of allergic inflammation and prevents bronchial asthma. The treatment leads to a reduction in the sensitivity of a person allergic to allergens and, consequently, to the elimination or reduction of the symptoms of the disease. It can be started from the age of 5. There is no upper age limit. The period of desensitization is 3 to 5 years.
Text: Halina Pilonis
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