Bad News for Hay Fever Sufferers

 

In the last 12 months, over 19 million people have been diagnosed with hay fever in the US alone. Nearly 40% of American children have pollen allergies. "Hay fever", or allergic rhinitis, is a seasonal allergy that causes the eyes to water, nose to run, throat to itch, and lungs to feel tight. It can be triggered by pollen from trees, grasses, weeds, ragweed, and other plants. Exposure to allergens is the cause of a hay fever allergy. Hay fever is caused by an allergic reaction to pollen from trees, grasses, weeds, shrubs, and other plants that are pollinated by insects such as bees, wasps, flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, and mosquitoes.

The symptoms of hay fever can vary from person to person. Some people may experience a few days or weeks of sneezing and itchy eyes before the allergy subsides; others may have more severe reactions that persist for months at a time. The length of your reaction depends on how much pollen is in the air when you are exposed to it during pollen season. If there’s not enough pollen around, then your body will be less likely to produce an allergic response.

"No one really knows why hay fever affects some people and not others. Whether or not you get hay fever may be down to genetics or the state of your gut health," says Dr Luke Powles, clinical director of Bupa Health Clinics in the UK. “People may be more prone to hay fever if stressed, as your body releases hormones and other chemicals, including histamine, the powerful chemical that leads to allergy symptoms,” Dr Powles says. “While stress doesn’t actually cause allergies, it can worsen an allergic reaction by increasing the histamine in your bloodstream.

And there is bad news if you suffer from seasonal allergies. It is only going to get worse. Perhaps much worse.

Based on current trends of rising global temperature and carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, annual pollen emissions are projected to increase by as much as 40% by 2100. At the same time, the pollen season is expected to begin 40 days earlier and end 20 days later than presently.

There is little that you can do other that treat the symptoms either.