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

Nutritional Supplements as Gifts Exercise Some Caution by: Mitamins Team

You’ve discovered the benefits of nutritional supplements and vitamins, and you want to share your newfound discovery with everyone. As a result, you decide that the perfect present for your best friend is a supply of some of your favorite nutritional supplements(http://www.mitamins.com).

But wait!

Before you place your order, it’s imperative that you keep a few things in mind when considering purchasing vitamins or nutritional supplements for someone who has not specifically requested them of you:

1. Nutritional Supplements are a Form of Holistic Medicine

Would you go out and purchase a bottle of a certain brand of aspirin for your colleague just because you happen to like it? Probably not. The same holds true for nutritional supplements. Though they can be purchased over-the-counter and without prescriptions, they still have the potential to affect one individual differently than they affect another. Therefore, what’s right for you isn’t necessarily going to be right for (or welcomed by) your neighbor.

2. Nutritional Supplements Are… Well… Personal

Imagine someone handing you a roll of toilet paper and a tube of athletes footcream for your birthday. Ouch! Such items are meant to be personal, and many people feel the same way about nutritional supplements and vitamins(http://www.mitamins.com). They are as uncomfortable receiving vitamin C tablets as they would be if you unceremoniously handed them a beribboned bottle of dandruff shampoo. Unless you know the intended recipient very, very, very well, purchasing vitamins or nutritional supplements may seem an odd, awkward, embarrassing, undesirable, or even rude gesture.

3. Nutritional Supplements Can Interfere with Medications

You just know it… your best friend would love the vitamins and herbs(http://conditionsinfo.mitamins.com) you’re taking. So you buy her a big bottle and present it to her during your next gabfest luncheon. Unfortunately, what neither of you realise is that one of the key ingredients actually interferes with another medication she’s been prescribed by her family physician (and that you knew nothing about.) Just because you think you know what’s best for someone, don’t assume that you know it all. Some people can encounter severe complications from taking pharmaceutical drugs and nutritional supplements simultaneously.

4. Nutritional Supplements Are Not, Alas, for Everyone

You may be totally, 100%, undeniable to nutritional supplements after realising their powers and abilities. But that optimism doesn’t hold true for everyone, even those with whom you’re closest. Many individuals are fearful of products with which they are unfamiliar, even the most basic multi-vitamins! Therefore, you’ll simply be wasting your money and time if you buy nutritional supplements for someone with the expectation that everyone is as open-minded to natural health as you.

ONE FINAL NOTE: Still determined to give certain nutritional supplements to a buddy? Then please ask him or her first for permission. That way, you can be on the same page, and although the gift won’t be a total surprise, youll at least know that it will be used as intended and not discarded or allowed to disintegrate in the back of a drawer.