Spring is here. No more snow or cold weather, the new spring clothes and bright colors, the gloomy colors of winter fade away and it’s the light at the end of the tunnel that gives faith that summer is right around the corner.
While to some, flowers blossoming brings joy and hope, to others misery, because this season means Spring allergies.
What is it about this season that can cause so much irritation?
“An allergy is when your body suspects something foreign and attacks,” Physiology teacher Andy Runkel said. “Your immune system is like an army,”
According to Runkel, everyone has a different immune system, or army, and it detects distinct substances that enter our body.
On the online website for the Minnesota Public Radio, it discusses the biological reason for what exactly is going on in your body.
“Just like with food allergies, the immune system, which is designed to protect us against infection from microbes, has gone haywire. For some reason it’s saying that pollen is dangerous. And it’s sort of responding as though that was the case” Dr. Jon Hallberg said.
“The symptoms aren’t what the allergies do, it’s the product of your body defending itself, like a defense mechanism” Runkel said.
To find out what it is that makes you tick and causes all these symptoms, Runkel recommends a trial and error kind of method. Going online and seeing what plants release pollen spores at what times. Be sure to pay close attention to when you start having symptoms
For relief, there are three main categories. You can take the usual antihistamines, like Benadryl, but according to Dr Hallberg, that can make you drowsy.
“Tylenol PM, for example, the ‘PM’ part is Benadryl,” Dr. Hallberg said.
“The second category, the second-generation antihistamines came out, the Claritins and the Zyrtecs, which are over-the-counter now, and Allegra, which you can still get, but through a prescription.” Dr. Hallberg said.
“Finally, there’s the third main category and that would be the corticosteroids. So, the Nasonox, Flonase nasal sprays, for example, that you squirt in your nose,” Dr. Hallberg describes, “and that works in a very different way to sort of blunt the immune response.”
So don’t sweat the small stuff, go talk to your doctor if the over the counter isn’t working. Don’t be miserable while everyone’s planning their Spring Break.