Causes Of Hay Fever
Posted on June 28, 2009
Filed Under Allergies | Leave a Comment
Dust, spores and animal dander are believed to be the allergens that cause hay fever. In the past, people associated the harvesting of fields of hay along with sneezing and chronic fever with the therm “hay fever”.
Today, however, the belief that ‘hay fever’ comes from harvesting of fields of hay is believed to be a misnomer. The experts say that contact with a field of hay should not be associated with fevers.
Allergic rhinitis is the most popular term used today to describe hay fever. The medical field has termed ‘allergic rhinitis’ instead of ‘hay fever’ because it is a more appropriate term. The term ‘rhinitis’ refers to an irritation of the nasal passages that is usually connected with sneezing, congestion along with itchy eyes, runny nose and excess tears. Sometimes, when put together, these symptoms can bring on a very high temperature.
When the body’s immune system is attached by these allergens, that’s when hay fever occurs. Within the body’s immune system, there is a productive substance called the ‘immunoglobuline E’ or IgE. Allergic rhinitis begins when the antibodies (allergens) begin to hurt mast cells. The group of cells are sometimes unprotected by IgE because they are so many that the IgE supply can’t cover them all up against all of the 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.
As small as it is, pollen is considered a very potent source of allergy. They rest on nasal linings and affect the rest of the respiratory tract that quickly cause allergic reactions.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Comments
Leave a Reply