How Do I Deal With Hay Fever Or Perennial Allergic Rhinitis

Hay fever, which is also known as seasonal allergic rhinitis, is a type of allergic reaction in which the body is sensible to airborne materials such as pollen. These materials penetrate until the upper respiratory passages that include the nose, sinus, throat, and eyes. Due to this penetration, these microscopic materials provoke the immune system to produce antibodies (antidotes) that, in turn, results in release of histamine. Histamine produces inflammation in the upper respiratory passages, which results in swelling and generating the typical symptoms of hay fever.

According to the name of this medical condition, many people think that it is a type of fever that occurs in the autumn when the hay is gathered. However, this is absolutely wrong, on the contrary, hay fever never causes fever! Perennial allergic rhinitis or hay fever can occur anytime across the year and is caused by allergens such as dust mites at home and pets. In this case, the major allergen that causes this allergy might change from time to time.

Hay fever is the common allergy among all types of allergies. According to a research, approximately 15 percent of the people in industrialized countries are suffering from this type of allergy.

Hay Fever Causes

The inclination towards allergy is often genetically inherited. Listed below are the most common factors/allergens that lead to hay fever.

• Tree pollen such as birch (common), elder, elm, and hazel (for hay fever in spring)
• Grass pollen (for hay fever in summer)
• Mugwort and hybrids like chrysanthemum (for hay fever in autumn)
• Dust mites in home and mould fungus (for perennial allergic rhinitis)
• Genetic tendency linked with other allergic diseases such as eczema or asthma

Hay Fever Symptoms

Symptoms of hay fever usually are first apparent in childhood, which gradually reduce until the age of 30 or 40. Listed below are the symptoms of hay fever.

• Itchy and watery eyes
• Frequent sneezing
• Congested nose or running nose
• Coughing
• Itching on the top of mouth
• Wheezing
• A feeling of burning in the throat

Hay Fever Diagnosis

You need to first contact your doctor if you suspect hay fever. On meeting, inform the doctor about the time when the allergy was observed, the location of the reaction, and the intensity of the symptoms occurred. The doctor will then conduct a few skin tests and particular blood tests to confirm the allergen to which your body is sensitive.

Hay Fever Treatment

It should be noted that the victims of hay fever are more likely to develop other allergic diseases that irritates the respiratory system. These diseases include asthma and sleeping disorders that might result in persistent exhaustion due to snoring and blockage in the nasal passages. So, the ideal treatment would be to stop exposing your body to allergic substances or preferably avoid it completely if you are suffering from hay fever. If you do not take this step, there are high chances that other serious allergic diseases can develop within you.

Medication can control the symptoms of hay fever, but cannot eliminate the sensitivity of your body to the suspected allergen. This means you cannot be free from the provoked allergic reactions. Mostly, hay fever is considered troublesome, rather a health hazard, but its symptoms do reduce as the time passes by.

There are various medicines available today that deal with the symptoms of hay fever. Several of these medicines are now available in the chemist shop and they can be brought without any prescription. You can speak to the pharmacist about which medicine can be appropriate for you. This often depends on the intensity of the symptoms. Below are the medicines used in the treatment of hay fever.

Antihistamine Tablets and Syrups

Antihistamines stop the histamine to develop allergic reactions, which is the immune systems’ reaction to the allergen. Antihistamines come in two different types based on whether they cause drowsiness or not, which are listed below.

• Resulting in Drowsiness
  • Chlorphenamine (Piriton)
  • Promethazine (Phenergan)
• Resulting in No or Less Drowsiness
  These are newer generation medicines
  • Acrivastine (Benadryl allergy relief)
  • Cetirizine (Zirtek allergy tablets)
  • Loratadine (Clarityn allergy tablets)

The new-generation medicines are strong enough such that they can be taken only once in the morning and you are ready to perform your daily chores without any difficulties. Therefore, these medicines are more in demand. Some of the antihistamines need prescription such as Fexofenadine (Telfast), while the remaining ones are available over the counter. Antihistamines are preferred for relief from the following symptoms:

• Sneezing
• Itching and running runny nose
• Eye symptoms
• Blocked nose (not that effective)

Antihistamine Nasal Sprays

Azelastine (Rhinolast nasal spray) is the only antihistamine that is directly applied in the nose and it needs doctor’s prescription. It is effective for any nasal symptoms if applied regularly, but are as better as corticosteroids applied in the nose. The antihistamine is effective in the following symptoms of hay fever:

• Sneezing
• Itching in the nose
• Running nose

Nasal Corticosteroids

Nasal corticosteroids are effective in minimizing the irritation in the nasal passages and are preferable than the antihistamine tablets and syrups. These steroids provide relief from most of the nasal problems and eye symptoms due to hay fever even from the blocked nose.

Beclometasone (Beconase hay fever nasal spray) and Fluticasone (Flixonase allergy nasal spray) are the two nasal corticosteroids available over the counter. There are other nasal corticosteroids, but they need prescription from the doctor.

You need to use these nasal steroids on a regular basis so that they can become effective for you. It is recommended to start with this medicine a few weeks prior to the advent of the pollen season.

Nasal Cromoglicate

Even these nasal sprays are to be started a few weeks prior to the advent of the pollen season. These sprays contain sodium cromoglicate (Rynacrom nasal spray), which deal with the nasal symptoms.

They are more in demand for the treatment in young children, but are not as effective as nasal corticosteroids.

Nasal Decongestants

These are mostly nasal drops and sprays that contain decongestants to provide relief from the blocked nose. These decongestants include xylometazoline, for instance, Otrivine nasal spray and Sudafed decongestant nasal spray; which can be bought from the pharmacies.

It should be noted that these decongestants should be preferred only for a short period.

Antihistamine Eye Drops

These medicines are effective in providing relief from with the eye symptoms, such as itchy eyes, red eyes, and watery eyes. The antihistamine eye drops used in this treatment are listed below.

• Antazoline (Otrivine antistin), which can be bought without prescription
• Azelastine (Optilast)
• Epinastine (Relestat)
• Ketotifen (Zaditen)
• Olopatadine (Opatanol)

The last four medicines in the list need prescription of the doctor.

Cromoglicate Eye Drops

These drops prevent allergic reaction and can be bought without any prescription. However, they are required to be used on a regular basis and can be preferred with the nasal cromoglicate medicines. Medicines in this category include drops having:

• Sodium cromoglicate (Clarityn allergy eye drops and Optrex allergy eye drops)
• Nedocromil sodium (Rapitil eye drops)

Desensitizing Vaccines

This treatment is referred to as immunotherapy and is preferred only in severe allergies when other treatments and medicines do not provide relief.

In this treatment, the patient is injected with small quantity of the known allergy provoking material to develop tolerance. This results in reduced production of the excessive histamine when the body is exposed to the allergen.

In practice, this treatment must be implemented for a long period under strict supervision

Show you Care

Listed below are guidelines that you can keep in mind for dealing with hay fever.

• Close the doors and windows during the pollen season if pollen is your allergen.
• Avoid scything the lawn. Delegate this work to someone else.
• Look out for the pollen forecast. If high, avoid external chores.

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