Hay Fever (cont.)
What causes allergic rhinitis?
Any substance can cause an allergy if exposed to a person in
the right way. But for all practical purposes and with few exceptions, allergic
rhinitis is caused by proteins. Commonly, allergic rhinitis is a
result of an allergic person coming in contact several times with protein
from plants. Many trees, grasses, and weeds produce extremely small,
light, dry protein particles called pollen. This pollen is spread
by the wind. These pollen particles are usually the male sex cells of the
plant and are smaller than the tip of a pin or less than 40 microns in
diameter.
Even though pollen is usually invisible in the air, pollen is a potent stimulator of allergy. Pollen lodges in the nasal lining tissues (mucus membranes) and other parts of the respiratory tract where it initiates the allergic response. Up to 30% of Americans at times suffer from allergic rhinitis. A person is programmed to be allergic by his/her genetic makeup and is destined to be allergic from birth. Approximately one in four people with allergic rhinitis also has asthma.
When and where does allergic rhinitis occur?
Since allergic rhinitis is frequently caused by pollen, symptoms occur when pollen is in the air. Trees primarily pollinate in the spring, while grasses pollinate in the spring and summer. Weeds usually pollinate in the late summer and fall. Of all allergy sufferers in the United States, 75% are allergic to ragweed, 50% are allergic to grasses, and 10% are allergic to trees. Of course, many people are allergic to other substances such as mold spores, animal protein, and mites, to name a few. Food is an uncommon cause of allergic rhinitis. If you wish to know the pollen count in your area, this information can often be found in the newspaper in the weather section or you can access the National Allergy Bureau's pollen count information at their Web site (http://www.aaaai.org/nab/index.cfm).
Next: How is allergic rhinitis diagnosed, and how are allergies identified? »
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