SELF-HELP PREVENTION: HAY FEVER
What is it?
An allergic condition affecting one person in ten in which the sufferer overreacts to pollens, moulds or spores in the air.
Hay fever-a seasonal form of allergic rhinitis-is really an inflammation of the nasal passages. The sufferer complains of sneezing, an itchy, blocked or runny nose, itchy eyes (which may also be red, watery and sensitive to light) and an itchy throat.
The condition can easily be confused with perennial allergic rhinitis which occurs year-round and is caused by an allergy to house-dust mites which live in carpets and bedding. Some people who appear to have allergic rhinitis are in fact sensitive to the weather, a deodorant spray or indeed one or more of many other things. This is not a true allergy but simply oversensitivity.
Most people who have hay fever start having trouble before the age of 15 and some grow out of it. Hay fever, like all allergies, tends to run in families. You don’t need to live in the country to be troubled with hay fever but if you live at the seaside you will be protected to some extent by winds that are pollen-free coming off the sea.
What causes it?
• An oversensitivity to pollens, moulds or spores. Tree pollens are most plentiful in April and May; grass pollens in June and July; and moulds and spores in August and September.
• Allergies run in families. We can’t choose our parents but a couple one or both of whom has a family history of allergy can take certain steps to reduce the chances of their children suffering from allergies.
Prevention
• Do all you can to avoid producing allergic children.
• Take preventive medications prescribed by your doctor or have a series of desensitizing injections. Discuss these with your doctor.
• Try an ‘alternative’ therapy. Homoeopathy, acupuncture and hypnotherapy all claim to prevent hay fever.
• Buy a car that has a ventilation system that can filter out pollens.
Only one European car does this (Saab). Sneezing when driving can be very dangerous because if your eyes are shut for half a second, say at 60 mph, you will travel ‘blind’ for 44 ft.
• If you have to drive start early in the day or late at night when pollens are not so plentiful in the cool air. Keep your car windows shut and the ventilators closed.
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Tags: General health