The world may be a beautiful place when nature is in bloom, but if you have pollen allergies, you know there’s a price to pay. Pollen is the fine dust, usually yellow, discharged from the male part of a flower. It is the plant’s fertilizing element and is commonly transported by wind, insects and other animals.
Common pollen sources:
- Weed (ragweed, sagebrush, etc.)
- Grass (Bermuda, red top, etc.)
- Trees (walnut, oak, hickory, etc.)
When the body encounters pollen in the air, it should simply ignore them as harmless elements. Instead, it reacts inappropriately, treating them like enemies on the offensive. It wages war against them by releasing chemicals (histamine) into the body. These chemicals prove self-destructive, though, and cause allergy symptoms that can make you miserable.
Managing Pollen Allergy:
Avoiding pollen is virtually impossible because it is airborne. Medications can help take the “edge” off of season pollen allergy symptoms. For those who suffer from severe allergy symptoms (seriously affecting quality of life) or who suffer with allergies for a significant portion of the year (more than just a few months), allergy immunotherapy may be advisable. Rather than just treating the symptoms, immunotherapy helps desensitize the body so that it will stop overreacting to pollens in the first place.
