Allergy to bloom in spring: symptoms, treatment

Not everyone will agree that spring is a great time of the year. For some people, the joy of the first warm sunny days is overshadowed by the return of allergies in the spring.

The main cause of spring allergies is plant pollen, which is almost invisible to the naked eye. It spreads over long distances along with air currents, settling on any surfaces.

Experts note that more and more people are faced with spring allergy, which occurs not only due to flowering plants, but due to factors such as chronic stressful situations, unhealthy diet, weakened immune protection.

Allergy development mechanism

What is allergy? This is the response of the immune system to the action of an irritant at the next contact with it. Spring allergy, like other types of allergic diseases, is a hypersensitive reaction of the body to things familiar to most people. But, if for many people contact with these substances goes unnoticed, then in the body of allergy sufferers begins intensively produced histamine - a mediator of allergies and a regulator of many physiological reactions in the body.

The mechanism of allergy development cannot be considered a fully studied process, since scientific research on this issue continues. But the knowledge available to allergists makes it possible to take this disease under individual control.

In total, there are three types of allergies: contact, respiratory and food. The list of allergens includes factors such as dust, mold, wool, chemicals, medicines, food and pollen.

Depending on the type of irritant, a person can face the disease all year round or seasonally, as in the case of spring allergies.

Causes

Spring allergy, as the name suggests, is seasonal and allergists call it hay fever (Latin for pollen). This type of disease depends on the life cycle of plants and mainly affects the respiratory system.

According to doctors, the disease is hereditary. If both parents suffer from hay fever in the family, then the child's chances of encountering the same pathology are 50%, if one of the parents is 25%.

The following factors also contribute to the development of spring allergies:

• unfavorable ecological situation in the region;
• the presence of another type of allergy, for example, food;
• harmful working conditions;
• chronic pathologies of the bronchopulmonary system;
• weak immune defense.

There are at least 50 subspecies of trees, shrubs and grasses that can have an adverse effect on the human body through the seasonal process of pollination. These include birch, oak, willow, maple, linden, wormwood, clover, wheat and many more.

Allergy symptoms

Seasonal allergies in spring are individual for everyone. The clinical manifestations of the disease resemble those of acute viral infections. For this reason, many people do not even realize that they are allergic, attributing all the ailments to the spring lack of vitamins, colds and weakened immunity.

The table shows the nuances due to which you can distinguish an allergic disease from a cold.

Factor	Allergy	Cold
Causative agent	Plant pollen	Hypothermia, viruses, bacteria
Sneezing	Frequently recurring	Rare
Discharge from the nose	Abundant watery and transparent	Liquid and transparent, after 2-3 days change to thicker and yellow-green
Eye condition	Itching, hyperemia and swelling of the eyelids, profuse lacrimation	Hyperemia and tearing are possible, but without itching and no more than 2 days
Other symptoms	Muscle aches, fever, sore throat, cough
Duration	Seasonal, while there is contact with the allergen, up to 2-3 months.	About 7-10 days, followed by recovery.

The listed symptoms determine the following diseases characteristic of allergy sufferers:

• allergic rhinitis - in 98% of those suffering from hay fever;
• allergic conjunctivitis - in 90%;
• asthenic syndrome occurring with headache - in 60%;
• inflammation of the paranasal sinuses - in 48%;
• allergic dermatitis - in 21%;
• seasonal bronchial asthma - 18%.

It should be noted that the symptoms of spring allergy can combine and worsen over time (especially in the absence of proper treatment or self-medication):

• runny nose - from mild nasal congestion to profuse nasal discharge and lack of nasal breathing;
• hyperemia of the mucous membranes and skin - redness of the eyes as a result of the expansion of the vascular network can spread to the face with the subsequent development of allergic dermatitis;
• lacrimation can be complicated by allergic conjunctivitis and rhinitis;
• cough, mainly at night for no apparent reason, over time can turn into an asthmatic form;
• general ailments quickly develop into increased fatigue, which affects performance, the development of depressive conditions and migraines.

Diagnostics of the spring allergy

1. Skin test is a simple and highly accurate diagnostic method. Should be carried out before and after an exacerbation of an allergic disease. The specialist applies a minimum amount of irritants (pollen) to specially made incisions on the skin. After that, the doctor monitors the reaction of the body and makes an appropriate diagnosis.
2. Blood test for total immunoglobulin E. If its level is increased, we are talking about the presence and severity of allergies.
3. Blood test for specific immunoglobulin E. Diagnostics is carried out in relation to a potential allergen. Depending on its result, the doctor draws the necessary conclusions.

Seasonal allergy treatment

Despite the fact that allergies are quite common in the spring, experts have not yet developed a cure for it. The main treatment is aimed at lowering the production of histamine in the body and eliminating attacks of allergic cough.

Doctors recommend that persons suffering from spring allergies, during an exacerbation of the disease, adhere to the following simple rules:

• during the flowering of plants, that is, in the very season of morbidity, take a vacation and leave the region of residence for the maximum possible time, going to a sanatorium or to the sea;
• if the trip is impossible for any reason, it is advisable to go outside as rarely as possible, if it is necessary - you need to wear sunglasses, the safest time for walking is evening hours or after the rain;
• you cannot open windows in living quarters, an air conditioner can be used to circulate air, and if it is absent, the vents should be covered with damp gauze, which should be changed every 2 hours;
• you need to take a shower every day, wash your hands and face as often as possible, you cannot dry clothes on the balcony.

During an exacerbation of the disease, it is not recommended to use cosmetics and perfumery products, use herbal decoctions and alcohol, as well as potential allergens - citruses and sweets. In addition, nicotine should be avoided.

Treatment for each person will be strictly individual. Much depends on the severity of the allergy and its characteristics, the state of the body. But there are general principles that help to cope with the clinical manifestations of the disease - we are talking about preventive immunotherapy.

This method is based on the introduction of an allergen in an increasing dosage into the human body, so that it stops responding to it in the future. This is a fairly effective therapeutic technique, but it will only be effective if the person will be able to regularly visit the medical office for several weeks for procedures immunotherapy. Compliance with this rule is a guaranteed chance to forget about spring allergy forever.

Of the medications during an exacerbation of the disease, preference is given to antihistamines, for example: Zirtek, Suprastin, Tsetrin, etc.

In severe allergies, a specialist may prescribe hormone-containing medications.

Complications

Self-medication of the disease is excluded. Spring allergy is a disease so dangerous that it has another name "slow killer". Inadequate treatment, lack of therapeutic assistance, neglected conditions, all this leads to the development of serious complications - bronchial asthma, pulmonary edema and anaphylactic shock.

All these conditions require urgent help, and if it is not received, the situation can end in disaster. Therefore, it is not recommended to engage in amateur performances and treat spring allergies without the participation of a doctor. It is imperative to consult a specialist, since not all people need to take antihistamines and avoid contact with pollen, someone during an exacerbation of the disease needs droppers and injections that cleanse the body of histamine.

In order not to confuse spring allergy with viral and bacterial infections, it is important to remember that with allergic diseases the body temperature does not rise, as with ARVI and flu. In addition, colds last no more than 1-2 weeks, which cannot be said about seasonal allergies - signs of hay fever can haunt the patient for 2 months. Spring allergy sufferers experience a deterioration in their general well-being outside, and at home these symptoms are lessened.