Hay Fever

Hay fever is a loosely used word describing some types of allergic rhinitis

. It is usually used in reference to pollen allergy. It is one of the most common types of allergies that there are.

If you have hay fever, you should be tested to determine exactly what you are allergic to. There are two common ways of testing; the blood test and the skin test. The skin test is the most common. By putting a small extract on your skin, the allergist can see what allergen that your body is reacting to. If the skin is too sensitive for this, a blood test can be administered. The blood test will measure the amount of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. People with allergies have more IgE antibodies in the blood than non-allergic people.

These IgE antibodies play a major role in the allergic reaction. The body has a remarkable way of protecting itself. The immune system has a way of detecting non-self particles from self-particles. When a non-self particle is detected, the immune system determines if it is harmful or not. This explains the difference between an allergic person and a non-allergic person. The immune system belonging to someone with allergies will make an incorrect "decision" and determine that a harmless substance is harmful.

When this happens, a large production of IgE antibodies are produced. They will wait around until they detect the next exposure for the allergen in which they were made for. They signal the response to the immune system by activating the mast cells. Mast cells are found in the ports of entry into the body. These cells burst open and release a floodgate of inflammatory chemicals.

It is these chemical that produce the hay fever symptoms that take away from our quality of life. Symptoms such as sneezing, nasal congestion, and runny noses make us feel lousy and takes away strength from us.

Hay fever should not be a condition that we accept just because there is not a cure. Talk with your physician and come up with a plan that is right for you. Then, learn avoidance strategies that will reduce your allergy down to a level that your symptoms become manageable.

The idea of avoidance requires and attitude change. It looks at the cause of the problem and not the symptoms. Would you rather get a disease and have the doctor cure you, or would you rather avoid the disease altogether? The principle is the same. Try to prevent the allergic reaction from happening rather than suppressing the symptoms with medication after-the-fact.

There are many positive and small changes that can be made yielding big results without requiring a lifestyle change in the fight against hay fever.

by: James Holl

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