Hay fever

What is hay fever?

Hay fever is a term used to describe allergic symptoms caused by pollen from grasses, plants and trees. These pollen are suspended in the air, move easily and therefore get into your eyes, mouth, throat and nose. People with pollen allergy react strongly to this by unnecessarily creating antibodies against the pollen.

Normally, antibodies are produced in a body only the moment a harmful invader enters the body. So in the case of pollen allergy, the pollen is mistakenly mistaken as harmful. The body then produces histamine to get the substances out of the body.

Histamine causes blood vessels to dilate, resulting in mucous membranes to swell and produce more mucus. This causes the symptoms of hay fever. The medical term for pollen allergy is "allergic rhinitis.

Symptoms

The symptoms that can occur with pollen allergy are very similar to a bad cold. These include:

• Sneeze
• Runny nose
• Blocked nose
• Itch
• Burning eyes
• Tearing eyes
• Tickle Cough
• Sore throat
• Tightness
• Headache

In addition to these symptoms, a person with hay fever may also be very tired, suffer from difficulty concentrating and sleep poorly. The symptoms often occur acutely and can be either mild or severe.

The season

Almost all plants, trees and grasses bloom approximately between February and September. The peak is usually in the months of May and June. During this period, you are most likely to experience hay fever symptoms. The pollen allergy season does get longer as the Netherlands gets warmer and more humid.

A press release from Statistics Netherlands states that hay fever sufferers bought their pollen allergy medication very early this year. A peak in sales was seen more than a month earlier than in previous years.

Allergy to trees, grasses or herbs

A person with pollen allergy may react allergically to the pollen from trees, grasses and/or herbs. You may be allergic to one or more types of pollen. This says something about when you are most likely to have symptoms.

For example, if you are allergic to pollen from tree pollen, you will develop symptoms mainly at the beginning of the hay fever season, and if you have an allergy to grass pollen, you will probably develop symptoms later in the year. There are people who have symptoms all season long, but there are also people who only suffer from it once in a while. A pollen calendar can be found here.

Diagnosis

Are you unsure if you have pollen allergy? If so, be sure to visit your doctor to get this checked out. It can be helpful to keep a diary of your symptoms before then. Sometimes it is immediately obvious to the doctor that complaints are caused by pollen allergy. For example because complaints are very clearly seasonal. In that case the doctor can immediately prescribe medication. It may also be that a referral to a specialist is necessary for further investigation.

Investigations

• Blood test: this can check for antibodies in the blood against certain pollen.
• Plaque sample:
• Skin prick test: in this test, a drop is applied to the skin in which pollen allergens are dissolved. A nurse then pricks the skin with a fine needle through the drops. If a reaction occurs, it means there is an allergy.

Tips

If you have hay fever, you can suffer greatly from it. In addition to medications you can get at the drugstore or by prescription through your doctor, there are things you can do yourself to minimize your symptoms.

• Avoiding the source. Of course, with pollen allergy, this is very difficult, but you can still take precautions. For example, wear sunglasses outside and, especially on hot and windy days, keep your windows and doors closed as much as possible. Airing your home is best done in the morning when the air is still somewhat humid. Also in the car, leave your windows closed and if possible, leave the blower off so that you don't suck pollen into your car that way.
• Keep an eye on the pollen calendar and the hay fever weather report so that you can plan your activities accordingly. It is best to go outside after a good rain, as there will be less pollen in the air.
• Remove pollen as soon as possible. So wash your hands often, comb pollen out of your hair, shower before you go to bed and change clothes outside your bedroom.
• Protect your nose from pollen by applying a greasy cream to your nose. Pollen will then stick to this.
• When itching, do not rub your eyes.
• Don't hang your laundry outside to dry.
• Make sure you know what kind of trees and plants you have in your garden. If you are allergic to them, remove them if possible.
• Keep in mind where you are going. Rural areas and natural areas generally have more pollen than coastal or urban areas.
• Eat as healthily as possible. Make sure you get enough vitamins, minerals and other antioxidants.
• Rinse your nose with a nasal douche to clear the nasal cavity of pollen.

Natural remedies

If for some reason you prefer not to take medication, for example because your symptoms are very mild or infrequent, you can find lots of "alternative" tips on the Internet.

Consider tips such as drinking chamomile tea or nettle tea, using curcuma or avoiding specific foods. These types of tips are not really proven, but of course there is no harm in trying them out. There are also a number of alternative treatments that have been described as having positive effects, such as acupuncture or medical taping.

In addition, certain orthomolecular nutrients in specific doses may have a positive effect on hay fever symptoms. The Ortho Health Foundation's online handbook states that buffered vitamin C with quercetin and OPC, among other things, may reduce symptoms. For more information , visit their website.

We hope the tips from this blog contribute to a beautiful, and hopefully reasonably complaint-free, spring and summer!

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Sources:

https://www.allergologie.nl/allergie-informatie/pollen/

https://www.pricewise.nl/zorgverzekering/hooikoorts/

https://www.avogel.nl/hooikoorts/hooikoorts-radar-pollen-weerbericht.php

https://allesoverallergie.nl/symptomen/hooikoorts

https://www.wur.nl/nl/Dossiers/dossier/Hooikoorts.htm