Pollen Allergy Symptoms

If you suffer from pollen allergy symptoms, you are among one out of every ten people in the US who suffers from these allergies. In most cases, those who have a pollen allergy are in fact allergic to several different types of pollen. As these pollens come from an enormous variety of plants, they vary dramatically. Among the most common pollen allergies are trees, grasses and weeds.

Tree Pollen

The male tree produces pollen for the fertilization process to begin. For the tree, the pollination process begins and ends in the spring. The tree uses the wind to find a female tree for reproduction. When people inhale the pollen, which floats through the air, pollen allergy symptoms begin. Although trees can produce different amounts of pollen each year, which greatly depends on the severity of the winter months, trees produce a rapid amount of pollen in a short time period. There are hundreds of trees that produce pollen and of those trees the most common trees that produce tree pollen allergy are:

Oak Ash Box Elder Elm Hickory Pecan Mountain Cedar

Grass Pollen

A quarter of the vegetation found on earth is grass. We don’t normally think about grass being a flowering plant, due to the fact most of us keep our grass cut low. Grass pollen is produced by the male part and is very small in size and ranges from about 17-37 microns. Grass pollen is found everywhere and it uses the wind for fertilization due to its light weight. The ideal conditions for grass pollen are days that are sunny and dry. The pollination process for grasses begins in the late spring and ends in the summer months.

There are well over 1200 species of grass that produces pollen. The most common grasses that produce grass pollen allergy are:

Bermuda Grass Kentucky Bluegrass Timothy grass Orchard grass Johnson grass Sweet Vernal grass Bahia grass Velvet grass Reed Canary grass

Weed Pollen

These pesky fellows produce more pollen than the other plants mentioned. They begin their process in the late summer and relentlessly continue to produce until the first frost. In North America weeds are the largest source for triggers of allergies and for hay fever sufferer’s. Ragweed is the number one source of their problems. Ragweed pollen is the most potent pollen of all the weeds. Other notorious weeds that cause weed pollen allergy are:

Sage weed Aster Clover Dandelion Rabbit brush Fireweed Mugwort Nettle Pigweed Cattail California poppy Sagebrush Russian thistle

Understanding Pollen Production

Understanding your pollen allergy symptoms is the first step in the battle against them. Pollen is the microscopic cell that comes from the male plant for reproduction. This tiny cell is what the female plant needs for fertilization. The male plant produces the pollen which is carried to the female plant in two different ways; through insects or the wind.

The plants that depend on the wind are normally smaller in size and very aerodynamic. Their flowers are not very attractive to the insects and therefore depend significantly on the wind for fertilization. People can significantly interfere with plants, as they are outside when pollen can be intercepted by people (this is when your allergies are affected) and may never reach their intended destination.

Plants that depend on insects are in fact very colorful and carry an aroma that attracts insects. Their pollen is larger, heavier, and will stick to the insects that touch them. The pollen is then carried by the insects to the female flower. These pollen producing plants rarely affect people, as they are delivered instead of floating through the air.

Allergy Symptoms

Pollen allergy symptoms do not pose much of a threat for the average person, and are more of an inconvenience than anything. It is only when the symptoms begin to escalate and are left untreated that bigger problems can occur. In certain instances pollen allergy symptoms can cause asthma, which can become a life threatening disease. Pollen allergy symptoms include:

• Congestion
• A Runny Nose
• Itchy, watery eyes often with dark circles under them
• Sore Throat
• Sneezing
• Dry cough that gets worse when laying down
• Headaches
• Fatigue

The only other dangers that can be associated with allergies would be the side effects incurred from medications for allergies. If this problem is something you are facing, talking to your primary care provider about alternatives to taking medication can be valuable.

Combating Your Pollen Allergy

Once you understand the pollination process and the symptoms associated with pollen allergies, it is time to take precautionary measures in order to help eliminate pollen allergy symptoms. While many people are allergic to more than one particular allergy, it is also a good idea to have your doctor conduct a skin test to determine what exactly you are allergic to. Take the following precautions to stop symptoms before they start:

• Air purifiers do a good job at keeping the air clean and allergens out of the air so we do not come in contact with them.
• Quality vacuums do a good job at catching and retaining and disposing of the allergen. Without a HEPA filter, the vacuum does not retain the allergens that they catch.
• Buy screen windows that will let the fresh air in and not the pollen.
• Use a mask if you are outside during peak pollen times. Preventing the allergic reaction as much as possible will be better for you when you do come in from outside.
• Use a nasal irrigation system to clean the pollen out of your nose.
• Change your clothes and shoes when you come in from outdoors to prevent bringing in pollen.

You can also do several things around the house to provide a safe haven and to get away from the pollen. To learn more, click on pollen allergy avoidance tips. Taking just these few simple steps can reduce your nasal allergies dramatically and allow you to relax at home

Avoidance should be apart of any treatment plan to combat pollen allergy symptoms. Medications are helpful but also can produce side effects. Normally, they do not address the allergic reaction going on inside your body. Rather, they address the symptoms by trying to prevent them from occurring.

Avoidance strategies address the cause instead of the results. It is healthier for the body to not have the allergic reaction in the first place rather than trying to stop it once it starts. By incorporating minor lifestyle changes, investing in some environments controls can be more cost effective over the long run.

The environmental controls also do not produce the side effects like the allergy medication can and will do. Our family suffers from these side effects and it was this that got us to look at a different approach to allergies.

Go to the nasal allergy HOME PAGE from pollen allergy symptoms.

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