A leading charity in Britain says that hayfever has risen dramatically; predictions are that by 2060, as many as 1 out of every 2 people will suffer with the seasonal disorder.
Allergy UK cites the longer pollen season as a critical factor. Global warming has resulted in pollinating seasons that start earlier and last longer. In addition, pollen production tends to be higher with increased carbon dioxide levels.
It’s not a big surprise that research would show that plants like carbon dioxide. CO2 is one of the basic needs of a plant: it’s used in photosynthesis to create sugar which the plant uses to grow.
When pollen counts are high, symptoms of hay fever can increase. Higher amounts of pollen create a greater irritation to the mast cells, and they go into overdrive. It’s the mast cells that produce histamine - the substance that triggers allergic symptoms.
Why would hayfever cases be on the rise? There are many theories, but the prevailing theory for seasonal and environmental allergies is the Hygiene Hypothesis. The theory states that we are not exposed to enough bacteria - in short, modern life is too clean! As a result, the immune system is not properly oriented towards real invaders, and seems to become sensitized to substances in one’s regular life - like pollen.
Allergies are not necessarily a life sentence. Allergies can cycle, allowing an individual (including adults) to “grow out of” an allergy. However, there is no guarantee that this will happen, and some allergies do last a lifetime.
At the moment, there is no cure for allergies but there are many ways to manage and reduce symptoms. Here are a few hayfever season survival tips:
- Shower at night! Ideally, you should shower as soon as you get home. This will remove pollen from your hair, which can gather and hold it.
- Invest in and wear wraparound sunglasses. You might even want to wear them at night (as one pop song from the 80’s suggests). This type of eyewear will help to keep pollen from blowing into your eyes.
- Create a nasal barrier. One way to trap pollen before it hits your nasal membranes is to apply a cream like vaseline around the inside of your nostrils. You can also buy specially designed products to spray in your nose and protect it from pollen.
- Use your clothes dryer, even in the summer. While many of us want to save energy by using our outdoor clothes line, you are simply turning your clothes into pollen collectors! Dry indoors.
- Some experts suggest eating local honey. Start before the pollen season, preferably. The theory is that the minute exposure to pollen in honey (in conjunction with immune system boosting properties) may help you to become less sensitive to local pollen.
- Keep those doors and windows closed! With doors and windows open, your home becomes a pollen collector too.
- Consider allergy-soothing eye drops. These can really help those red, irritated eyes.
We have more tips on managing seasonal allergies. A combination of techniques should help you to reduce your symptoms and better survive allergy season!
Source: Sky News
