Why You Have Hay Fever
Hay fever is believed to be caused by allergens in the air such as dust, spores, and animal dander. Traditionally, early people associate harvesting of field hay to developing constant sneezing and chronic fever, thus the term “hay fever.”
Today, however, this belief is said to be a misnomer. A fever that is caused by certain allergens should not be hastily associated with being in contact with a field of hay. Experts agree with this.
Today, hay fever is more popularly known as allergic rhinitis. Medical authorities have introduced the term “allergic rhinitis” explaining that this should be the more appropriate term than “hay fever.” The word “rhinitis” refers to an irritation of the nose that is most commonly connected to sneezing, nasal congestion, itching of the eyes and nose, runny nose, and excess production of tears. Together, these symptoms bring about a usually very high fever.
Hay fever occurs when the body’s immune system is attacked by antibodies called allergens. In the bodies complex immune process, there is a productive substance called the “immunoglobuline E” or simply “IgE.” Hay fever begins when allergens begin to injure mast cells, a group of cells that are usually unprotected by IgE because they are so many that the IgE supply could not cover them all up against antibodies.
When mast cells are injured or get infected, they in turn secrete allergic substances towards body tissues and other body cells. Histamine is the most common substance that the body produces. It is a very strong substance that causes itching and swelling of your tissues and can cause leaking of fluid from cells.
In the long run, these substances, like histamine, could trigger a lot more mechanisms to cause more serious disorders like tightening of the throat, loss of voice, and more seriously, asthma. Sometimes, sufferers of hay fever experience muscle spasms and lung contraction.
Protein is also a cause of allergic rhinitis. People that always have contact with plants, might be infected with pollens, in this case proteins. These are known as the male sex cells in trees, weeds and grasses. It is invisible because it is only about 4 microns in diameter.
Even though pollen is so small, and practically invisible, it is considered a very potent source of allergies. These pollens will rest on nasal passages and affect the entire respiratory tract. This, in turn, causes severe allergic reactions.
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Written by Veronica Beeman on December 10th, 2009 with
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