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what are nasal allergies | |
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causes & symptoms | |
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treating nasal allergies | |
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pollen pointers | |
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glossary | |
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expert Q & A | |
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When you visit someone with a cat, do you sneeze for hours? Is spring a season of sniffling and stuffiness for your nose? If so, you may have nasal allergies. Like any other disorder, nasal allergies have causes and symptoms. Learn about them here. causes If your mom or dad has allergies, you most likely inherited yours. Different things cause allergies in different people. Enjoying the great outdoors or your fluffy animal friend can be tough when you have nasal allergies. That's because many plants and animals produce allergens that may make your allergies act up. Here’s a breakdown of the main airborne allergy sources. pollen Spring, summer, and fall are all allergy seasons if you're allergic to pollen. During these times, trees, weeds, and grasses release pollen that hitches rides on air currents. Pollen reaches human noses and throats, making people with pollen allergies miserable. Of all the things that cause nasal allergies, pollen is one of the most widespread. Ragweed pollen is an amazingly efficient wind traveler—samples have been found 400 miles out to sea and 2 miles high in the air. So eliminating plants around your living area won’t necessarily solve your pollen problem. There is no way to completely avoid wind-borne pollen, even if you seal yourself indoors. Find out when it's pollen season and check your local pollen count to gauge the possible severity of your pollen allergies on a given day. mold Although there are thousands of molds and yeast types, only a few are considered nasal allergy triggers. Molds grow in soil, compost piles, rotting logs, and fallen leaves. Some even attach to grains such as wheat, oats, and barley. Molds can easily grow indoors as well. They flourish in damp basements, closets, bathrooms, fresh food storage areas, refrigerators, houseplants, air conditioners, humidifiers, garbage pails, mattresses, and upholstered furniture. Like pollen, there must be a large amount of mold spores to spark nasal allergy symptoms. Since mold spores are found almost everywhere, they sometimes outnumber pollen spores in the air. Fortunately, there are only a few dozen types that pose a threat to people with nasal allergies. dust mites Dust bothers most people, even if they don’t have allergies. But if your nasal allergies persist through the winter months, you may be allergic to dust mites. Dust mites are microscopic organisms that live in upholstered furniture and carpets. They can thrive in your house all winter long. So if you're allergic to them, you most likely have nasal allergy symptoms throughout the year – even when pollen and mold seasons are over. animal dander It's a common misconception that people with animal allergies are allergic to animal hair and fur. But really, animal dander, saliva, and urine provoke nasal allergy symptoms in people. Furniture and carpets are great havens for animal dander to settle. And animal allergens can stick around in houses for months after the animal is gone. Someone with animal allergies may suffer for up to 6 months after exposure to an animal to which they’re allergic. Even if you’re an animal lover, you should try and avoid close contact with pets that cause allergy symptoms. symptoms Nasal allergy symptoms tend to hit you in two phases. During the early phase, your nose itches and you sneeze in attempt to rid yourself of the allergen. Then your nose gets runny as your body tries to rinse out the allergen. The second phase can start hours later and last for weeks. It may even be stronger than the initial response. Usually, this phase begins 4 to 5 hours following exposure to the allergen. Your stuffiness intensifies and you become more sensitive to other irritants like cigarette smoke and perfume. |
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