Pollen Allergy

Pollen allergy affects my family as it does with so many other families. It is one of the most common chronic diseases (within the top 6) affecting millions of people. If you are allergic to pollen, you are not alone.

I don't have to be allergic to pollen to know when the pollen season is here. When my family starts sneezing and the air conditioner goes on and the windows go shut on beautiful gorgeous days, I know that the pollen season has arrived.

Many different kinds of pollen contribute to pollen allergy making it last from spring to fall.

Airborne allergens cause the most allergic symptoms. Of all the airborne allergens that there are, pollen is the most widespread. It is one of the most common forms of allergic rhinitis.

What is Pollen?

Pollen is the microscopic cells from the male plants needed for reproduction. It is what fertilizes the female plant of the same species. It is only present when the plants are producing flowers. There are some exceptions where some species uses the pollen from its own flower to fertilize itself.

These tiny, round or oval granules have the task of getting from the male plant to the female plant when neither plant is close to each other and neither plant moves. Nature accomplishes pollination in two ways.

2 Methods of Plant Fertilization

The first method is by the plant using birds, bees, or other insects to carry its pollen for them. These types of plants tend to produce beautiful, nice smelling flowers that will attract the animals. The rose is a good example. The pollen tends to be a little sticky so that it will cling onto the insect. As the insect visits other flowers, the pollen rubs off. If this happens inside the female flower of the same species, then fertilization occurs.

The second method that nature uses for plant fertilization is wind currents. The pollen is very small, lightweight and dry, making it well suited to be dispersed by the wind. These types of plants tend not to attract animals. These plants are more plain looking and do not have the beautiful flowers. Grasses, trees and weeds release their pollen this way. For this method to be effective, the plant produces and releases huge quantities of pollen. This is the type of method that causes pollen allergy.

Which method nature uses makes a big difference in whether or not the pollen will cause hay fever symptoms. Plants that produce pollen that is carried by insects rarely causes people problems. These granules are a little heavier and does not stay airborne long enough to travel far.

Some plants that release their pollen to the wind currents do not cause people problems if the pollen does not stay airborne long enough to travel far. Sweet corn is one such example where the pollen does not stay airborne long enough. But other plants like ragweed, for example, can release over a million pollen granules in a day and travel as far as 400 miles away and as high as 2 miles high. Plants that produce a light weight, airy pollen that stays airborne do cause people pollen allergy symptoms.

Pollen Allergy Season

The term allergy season can mean different times of the year to different people depending on what they are allergic to. The term is a reference to the periods of high concentrations of airborne allergens. The term is also used differently by different people depending on what type of allergen they are sensitized to. In general, the term is used more in late summer and fall since most people are allergic to ragweed.

• Trees: Tree Allergy is primarily in the spring.
• Grasses: Grass Allergy is primarily in the late spring and early summer.
• Weeds: weed allergy is primarily in late summer through autumn.

The further south you go, the sooner the allergy season starts. The first frost usually puts an end to pollen allergy season. Mold spores are also an allergen that triggers allergies and is present all season long. It takes a hard frost to end the mold spore season, not necessarily the first frost. And in some parts of the country where there are not hard winters with snow not covering the ground, mold spores can cause problems for those people who are sensitize to them year-round.

Dust mites live indoors and have a powerful allergen for those who are sensitized to the house dust mite. So in theory, anytime of the year can always be some ones allergy season. This is why pollination season is sometimes used instead of allergy season in reference to airborne pollen of trees, grasses, and weeds.

To find out more specifically when trees, grasses and weed pollen allergens are present for your specific region of the world, check out the World Pollen Calendar.

Pollen Count

A pollen count is a measurement of the number of grains of pollen per cubic meter per day.

The pollen count is usually expressed as an average over a 24 hour period. The key word to note here is average because wind-pollinated plants do not scatter their pollen evenly through out the day.

Most plants (but not all), release their pollen in the morning.

Today's pollen count is reflecting what was in the air yesterday. Even though pollen counting has its limitations, it is still a very useful tool in planning activities and helpful in pollen allergy avoidance.

Predicting the pollen count can be as difficult as predicting the weather because they are both closely related. Pollen has to be dry to be released. Dry, windy days can spread a lot of ragweed pollen. If there is dew on the ground, the concentration of pollen in the air will be later on in the day. Rainfall from the previous day can have the same effect.

During these damp periods, pollen builds up in the flower so on the next dry day, an excessive amount of pollen can be released. Hot weather increases the pollen production and cool weather reduces the amount of production. Thus, predicting pollen counts depend on the temperature forecast, rainfall prediction, and other variables.

When the weather forecasters are wrong, the pollen count prediction is usually not accurate.

Type your zip code into the box above, and click on "Enter", to find out the pollen count for your area.

Allergy Symptoms

Symptoms that people experience from pollen allergy can be different from person to person, depending on what allergen that they are allergic to. Equally important is the degree to which the person is sensitized to the allergen particle. Furthermore, seasonal and perennial allergens may exacerbate asthma conditions depending on the particle size. Sometime it can be difficult to determine if it is it a cold, or is it hay fever.

The most common pollen allergy symptoms are;

• Runny nose
• Sneezing
• Itching nose, throat, and/or skin
• Redness, itchy, and tearing eyes (allergic conjunctivitis)
• Nasal congestion (along with a decrease of sense of smell and taste)

Other symptoms may be present too, depending on the sensitivity of the person to being allergic to pollen allergy. Further symptoms may include;

• Coughing
• Sore throat
• Headache and/or facial pain
• Wheezing (mostly associated with people who have asthma)
• Increase use of asthma medication
• Snoring due to nasal congestion
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Post nasal drip (nasal discharge down the back of the throat)
• Otitis media (middle ear infection)
• Sinusitis
• Nose bleeding if severe

The Allergic Response

The definition of an allergen is a harmless substance regarded as hostile by the immune system.

There is nothing hostile about pollen. All it is trying to do is to fertilize another plant using the wind currents as a means of transportation. When people get in the way of this and inhale them in, the pollen causes an allergic reaction in those who are sensitive to pollen.

When working properly, the immune system does a wonderful job of keeping us healthy and disease free. It does so by recognizing an invading foreign substance and attacking and destroying it before it causes the body any problems. For those who have pollen allergy, they have an immune system that sees pollen as a harmful, foreign invader.

The first stage is called sensitization. This stage consists of the immune system mistakenly identifying pollen as harmful. The immune system goes to work at producing special antibodies capable of recognizing the same pollen again if it enters the body. These antibodies are called immunoglobulin E (IgE).

Each IgE antibody that the body makes is different for all the different types of pollen. One type of IgE antibody is made to recognize oak pollen while another type made will recognize cedar pollen.

When the allergen enters the body again, the immune system is ready for it. The IgE antibody binds to the mast cells and releases an inflammatory chemical called histamine.

Histamine is one of the main causes of pollen allergy symptoms. By the body releasing this chemical, the immune system is trying to prevent more allergens from entering and also trying to flush out what has already entered.

Unfortunately for the person experiencing these symptoms, this battle is being waged over a harmless substance.

Allergy Testing

Testing is an important component of dealing with pollen allergy because symptoms can sometimes be misleading. There is no cure for allergies so avoidance is always the best course of action. Thus, it is important to know exactly what allergen you are allergic to in order to customize the best treatment.

There are two common ways of testing; Blood test and Skin test. Both ways of testing measure the quantity of antibodies that the immune system makes to match the foreign invader that it is fighting. People with allergies have more immunoglobulin E (IgE) in their blood than people who don’t have allergies.

Blood test: This measures the amount of the IgE antibody in the blood by taking a blood sample and sending it out to a medical lab. There are various types of allergens used. The blood is tested for evidence of sensitivity for each type of allergen that is tested.

Skin test: This is the most common way of testing for pollen allergy. Like the blood test, skin testing also measures for evidence of sensitivity to various types of allergens. Different types of allergen extracts are put just beneath the skin. This can be accomplished by scratching the allergen in with a special needle or by injection. A positive result will usually consist of a reddening of the skin at the test location. A bump or swelling will also usually occur. The size of the swell can give an indication to the strength of the reaction.

There is more to interpreting the results than what has just been described above. So a wise course of action is to have a physician perform these tests who has also been trained in the discipline of allergies. They will be better equipped to ask questions and interpret your history of symptoms and reactions. Your physician may also want to give you a physical exam and to review your medical history. Genetics plays a role in pollen allergy and you should be prepared to provide that information.

Avoidance

Pollen is everywhere and impossible to avoid. There are, however, many allergen avoidance strategies that can be implemented that can bring your allergy down to a level that your symptoms become manageable. As drugs and medicine only address the symptoms, pollen allergy avoidance address the cause. By addressing the cause and making some lifestyle changes, your quality of life will improve through less allergy symptoms.

Avoidance also requires an attitude change. Just because you learned to live with your symptoms doesn’t mean that you need to continue living with them. Too many suffer allergy symptoms when it is not necessary. Improving your quality of life requires determination to change your situation. Often, results are achieved through a combination of efforts rather than making only one change. Like anything in life, having the right attitude will make a big difference.

The key to pollen allergy relief is to reduce your overall exposure as much as possible. There are many practical and effective means of achieving this. How much you need to do or how little you need to do will depend on your sensitivity. Regardless of your degree of sensitivity, the sooner you begin your natural pollen allergy relief program, the better.

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