Pollen allergy may be the reason for your sneezing in spite of a change in seasons

About Hay Fever

In the various seasons (spring, summer, and fall) during the year, pollen grains are dispersed from trees, weeds, and grasses. These pollen grains travel on air currents to fertilize other plants. Inhaling pollen, in some people, can trigger seasonal allergic rhinitis which is also called pollen allergy or hay fever. In this condition the mucous membranes in the nasal passages inflame, which causes swelling, sneezing, itching, irritation and a runny nose.

Allergy seasons are:

• May - July/August – Grass pollen:
• Feb – June – Tree pollen (depending on whether allergic to early or late flowering trees)
• August – September – Nettle/weed pollen

Hay fever symptoms can continue all the year round and may also occur from indoor allergens like house dust mites, pets and possibly indoor moulds.

Hay fever is actually an attempt by the body to rid itself of allergens but the immune system overreacts and releases chemicals which cause inflammation, causing:

• Itchy, watery, red eyes
• Frequent sneezing
• Constantly dripping nose

Sufferers, when afflicted with this condition, have to struggle to breathe through their nose. Symptoms are often quite bad in young people and tails off in later years as the body adapts. Studies have shown that hay fever can severely affect the quality of life, disturb sleep patterns, impair daytime concentration and work performance.

What is pollen allergy?

Pollen once released from trees, weeds and grasses, ride on air currents with a mission to disperse and fertilize other plants. However, they rarely reach their targets. On the way they get into human noses and throats, triggering allergic reactions.

Pollen is one of the most pervasive things that can cause an allergy and cannot be avoided. Many allergy causing foods, drugs, or animals can be largely avoided but insects and household dust are inescapable. However, short of staying indoors, there is no foolproof method of evading windborne pollen. Nonetheless, ways have been established that help ease the symptoms of hay fever. Moreover, scientists are working to find better approaches to allergy treatment.

Research has helped provide a better understanding of the causes of allergy, improve the methods for diagnosing and treating allergic reactions and thereby eventually preventing them. The common signs and symptoms of pollen allergy are:

• Sneezing, the most common, may be accompanied by a runny or clogged nose
• Itching eyes, nose, and throat
• Allergic shiners (dark circles under the eyes caused by restricted blood flow near the sinuses)
• The "allergic salute" (in a child, persistent upward rubbing of the nose that causes a crease mark on the nose)
• Watering eyes
• Conjunctivitis (is inflammation of the membrane that lines the eyelids, causing red-rimmed eyes)

In a pollen-sensitive person, as soon as the allergy-causing pollen lands on the mucous membranes of the nose, a chain reaction occurs that leads the mast cells in these tissues to release histamine. This potent chemical dilates the small blood vessels in the nose; causing the fluids to escape through the expanded vessel walls, which in turn results in swelling of the nasal passages as well as nasal congestion. On the other hand, histamine also causes itching, irritation, and excess mucus production. Similarly, other chemicals like prostaglandins and leukotrienes also contribute to allergic symptoms.

Some people with pollen allergy also develop asthma, a serious respiratory condition, which can eventually become chronic. Symptoms include coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath due to a narrowing of the bronchial passages and excess mucus production.
Author Resource:- Webmaster associated with hay fever related site. This site provides various information headache and pollen allergy.Resources are available on site headclinic.co.uk

Helping Your Children Deal With Stress by: Steve Hill

Many children suffer from various forms of stress and in this article I give advice on how parents can help their child during these periods. Their stress can cause them to have nightmares and to lose their self-confidence. I hope you find this article interesting and beneficial.

Children who have nightmares

There are many reasons why children can start to have nightmares. I have two children, both of whom at various stages of their lives wake up crying and upset.

My young son started to have nightmares after watching the film Lord Of The Rings. He really enjoyed watching the film and wanted to watch it on a regular basis and would even re-inact the battles. The film itself is quite long and he would normally be watching it by himself as his mother and I would be busy doing other things.

I thought about why he may have started to have these type of dreams and believed it was due to this film. I then made a point of watching it with him and kept on reassuring him that the people have not actually died and that they were only acting. I even made a point of laughing at some of the more gruesome scenes and by making comments like, as if that would ever happen. This and by also only allowing him to watch the film once a week, helped to stop this period of nightmares.

Children can also develop nightmares after an illness. This can happen after having a period away from school. They may start to worry that they may have fallen behind with their work, or that they may not be able to get back into their crowd of friends. They may also fear that their best friend may have found a new best friend.

In this situation I would advise that when the child is better and before he returns to school that you re-introduce them to the work that they were studying before the illness. You can even ask the teacher to supply some of the work that the child has missed, to help them to catch up. I myself always phone up the parents of my childrens friends and invite their child round for a meal, and to play, the evening before my child is set to return to school.

Therefore when my children are ill, I always say to them not to worry about the work they may miss or about their friends as they know now how I operate etc.

Children who stress

My daughter at one point started to stress because she was not in any of the top groups in the different subjects she was taking at school. She felt like she was a failure and that we would not be proud of her. I advised her that we knew she was giving it her all at school and that as long as she continued to try her best that we would always be proud of her. After all not every child can be in these top sets.

I reminded her that she was in the netball and athletics teams and tried to make her see the positive way of thinking.

She now knows that even when she believes she is unable to perform a certain task that she should still have a go at it. When she makes an error there will always be somebody their to explain where she went wrong, which she can then learn from for the next time.

As parents it is important that we do not criticise our children too often. This can lead to them fearing failure and can lead to them not even attempting to try certain tasks.

Keep them motivated by making homework fun. Praise the child as often as possible, when they complete something well, this builds up their self-esteem. Instead of shouting at the child when they are naughty, try to talk to them as if they were an adult.

In conclusion I always try to treat my own children in a fair and relaxed manner. I want them to know that I am proud of them even if they do not achieve one hundred percent at school. If they have nightmares, I want to work out why this might be and to break whatever cycle is happening. I attempt to work out what each child is worrying about and then try to help them to find a solution.