After a long winter, many people look forward to the spring weather. However, the season can bring some adverse reactions, as many people experience seasonal allergies that develop at the same time every year.
In a written response, Medical Health Officer for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Dr. Stanley Enebeli, explains that these symptoms are caused by exposure to pollens from trees, grasses, or weeds. The amount and type of pollen in the air can vary depending on the season, however, pollen count is typically higher in the warmer months.
“Pollen exposure can trigger various allergic reactions, including symptoms of hay fever. Hay fever, or allergic rhinitis, happens when allergens like pollen enter your body and your immune system wrongly sees them as threats. If you have allergic rhinitis, your body then responds to the allergen by releasing chemicals that can cause symptoms in the nose.”
Symptoms of hay fever include sneezing, congestion, and a runny nose. This is often experienced in tandem with symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis, also triggered by pollen exposure.
“Allergic conjunctivitis is inflammation of eye lining or conjunctiva due to exposure to allergens like those in pollen. Symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis include red eyes, watery eyes, and itchy eyes.”
People with respiratory illnesses like asthma may be more sensitive to pollen. This can be aggravated by higher pollen concentrations and longer pollen seasons and can trigger asthma episodes and even reduce productivity.
There are steps that can be taken to prevent seasonal allergy symptoms. This includes limiting time spent outdoors, refraining from touching your eyes outdoors and washing your hands before touching your eyes indoors, showering and changing your clothes after being outside, keeping windows closed during pollen season, and using high high-efficiency filters in your home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
Allergy and asthma medication should be taken as prescribed by a health care provider. Home allergy treatments are typically effective for most people experiencing symptoms.
“Most allergic reactions are mild. For most people home treatment can relieve many of the symptoms. When home treatment doesn’t help or if you do experience severe symptoms like nose bleeds, coughing, wheezing or difficulty with breathing please go see your health care provider.”