What are Spring Allergies?

Nearly fifty million people (1 in 5) suffer from some form of allergies. Spring allergies, also known as hay fever and allergic rhinitis, have irritating symptoms that 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, and fatigue.

These symptoms can keep us from doing the things we love and interfere in any and all of our daily activities. But what exactly are spring allergies and how do they affect our daily lives so intricately? The allergy season starts in the spring and continues, in most cases, until the first frost arrives.

Plants such as trees, grasses and weeds produce pollen that is carried through the air by the wind. Once these pollens, or allergens, interact with our open pores such as our eyes or nose it causes an allergic reaction. It is our body’s immune system that reacts to these allergens because it mistakes the invaders as a harmful intruder causing our bodies to cough, sneeze, have watery or itchy eyes, and other frustrating symptoms.

Plants that Pollinate in the Spring

Once spring begins so does the allergy season and with it comes the pesky pollen that causes us sufferers of allergies those trying symptoms. This pollen production begins with the;

• Trees, that pollinate in the spring.
• Grasses, that pollinate in the late spring until summer.

Those who have spring allergies must either find a way to avoid the pollen or a way to cope with their symptoms.

The Most Common Plants that Cause Springtime Allergy Symptoms

Spring is the time of year when the trees are in full bloom and the grasses and weeds are starting to grow. Pollen produced by trees is the cause of hay fever symptoms. The pollen must make its way to a female tree for fertilization to occur, yet is sometimes captured by our open pores as we are out in the fresh air.

The trees cycle of reproduction starts and ends in the spring. Trees can produce a large amount of pollen in a very short time. The most common trees for producing pollen allergies include:

• Oak
• Ash
• Box Elder
• Elm
• Birch
• Hickory
• Pecan
• Mountain Cedar

In North America alone there are well over 1200 species of grass. The grasses cycle of reproduction begins in the late spring and produces pollen into the summer months. The most common species of grass that causes allergies include:

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

Trees and grasses are not the only culprits for causing allergies; weeds produce high levels of pollen in the late summer and fall. Depending on where you live, your spring allergies may extend well in the fall months.

How do Springtime Allergies affect me?

Spring allergy symptoms manifest when the person with allergies inhales or otherwise ingests an allergen. This is a substance such as pollens, dander, mold and many others that trigger an immune system response, which in turn results in a variety of symptoms. These symptoms affect our daily lives and turn us into sniffling, aching and inherently sick, congested casualties.

Having these symptoms are not only difficult to deal with daily, they can also lead to a variety of other diseases such as asthma, respiratory infections, depression and even death. Therefore there is no time like the present to take a proactive approach to your allergies and learn preventative measures.

Prevent the Symptoms of Spring Allergies Before they Start

An effective way to treat your spring allergy symptoms is by taking a preemptive role rather than waiting for the symptoms to occur.
Check daily on websites such as
http://www.pollen.com/allergy-weather-forecast.asp
or
http://www.weather.com/activities/health/allergies/
to get an accurate count of pollen levels in your area. When you find that pollen levels are high take a few necessary steps to properly protect yourself.

• Close all your windows and doors.
• Keep your time outside to a bare minimum.
• Take a shower and wash your cloths as soon as you come in from outdoors.
• Do not hang clothes outside.
• Flush your sinuses regularly.
• Keep the filter on your central air clean and in good condition.
• Vacuum only with a vacuum that has a HEPA filter. To use any other kind will not retain the pollen that it catches.
• Use an air purifier to collect the pollen before it is breathed in.

Before you make the decision to use any over the counter medications, you should consult with your family doctor. He may send you to an allergist for testing to see exactly what is causing your spring allergies. Once your allergies have been identified, your doctor may recommend a variety of treatments including allergy shots, prescription medications or simple OTC antihistamines.

If you have been using homeopathic remedies to treat your allergies, you should make sure that you tell your doctor. There is a distinct possibility that these remedies can interact with many of the different medications your doctor might prescribe. While spring allergies are certainly not pleasant, by taking the proper precautions, you can reduce their symptoms to the point where they do not interfere with your daily life.

The most important thing to remember is that prevention is much easier than trying to cope with the symptoms after they have started.

Go to the nasal allergy HOME PAGE from spring allergies.

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