Are you waiting for the spring with horror? At a time when all people are happy with the blooming of nature and warm days, do you spend at home, in the company of a handkerchief and funds from a cold? Most likely, you are a victim of the so-called seasonal allergy or pollinosis. Pollinosis. This disease is one of the most common in both adults and children. Pollinosis in children is the most widespread type of allergic diseases. Pollinosis is a disease that is allergic in nature and, as a rule, has a chronic form. The symptoms of pollinosis are as follows:
- Allergic inflammation and edema of the mucous membranes of the nasal passages and respiratory tract, which is caused by exposure to the body of pollen from plants.
- Seasonal runny nose, starting during the flowering of certain plants.
- Allergic conjunctivitis.
Despite the wide dissemination of thisdisease, often, unfortunately, it is not diagnosed, or is diagnosed untimely. And timely diagnosis is very important - it is much easier to take preventive measures and prevent the development of the disease, than to later fight it in a neglected form. Not diagnosed pollinosis doctors very often accept at the best for a virus disease at which antiviral preparations are appointed which are absolutely useless at allergic reactions. In the worst case, doctors diagnose an inflammatory disease in the patient and prescribe antibiotics for treatment. Antibiotics in this case will not bring the body anything but harm. The most difficult in this respect is small children. As you know, allergist doctors mostly accept children only two to three years older. A pollinosis often occurs in a one-year-old crumbs. And if the attending physician - a pediatrician who observes a crumb, is not experienced enough and does not understand what is the cause of the baby's ailment, taking unnecessary, and sometimes dangerous for the body of drugs is almost inevitable. That is why all parents should have at least a general idea of what is pollinosis, the causes of its occurrence and its symptoms. In the event that parents have this information, they will be able to understand in time what is happening to their baby and to consult a doctor - an allergist. This they will be an invaluable service to your baby. Unrecognized pollinosis in time can lead to quite serious complications - chronic allergic reaction of the body to a certain allergen, weakening of immunity and even the development of such an unpleasant and dangerous disease as bronchial asthma.
Causes of Pollinosis
Pollinosis begins to develop in the event thatthe human body sharply increases its sensitization to the pollen of one or several plants, typical for the climatic zone in which the sick person lives. Sensitization is the sensitivity of the organism to the effect that any environmental factor has on it. If we take as a basis the most averaged data, in Russia there are three periods of flowering of the main plants, which most often lead to the development of allergic reactions in humans, in particular, they cause a hay fever:
- The spring flowering period begins in April-May. In this period, such trees and bushes begin to bloom, like hazel, oak, alder, birch and others.
- The summer flowering season begins in June and July. At this time, grassy grasses, such as wheat grass, timothy grass, fescue grass, bluegrass and other common plants, are actively blooming.
- The period of summer-autumn flowering occurs inend of August - September. At this time, there is a flowering of those plants that belong to the family of mazes or comatose - ragweed, quinoa, wormwood.
During the active flowering of plants pollenis able to spread very, very extensively. This is connected with the fact that the pollen is of the smallest size, but it is released in a huge quantity and is easily carried by the wind for many kilometers around the plant itself. If a person has a predilection for allergic diseases and pollinosis, on contact with pollen, he immediately feels a significant deterioration in his health. However, often pollinosis can manifest itself in varying degrees of severity and beyond the period of flowering plants - for example, in autumn or winter. In this case, be sure to try to find the cause - a provoking factor that has an extremely negative impact on the human body. This factor can be almost anything: the sharp smells of paint, household chemicals, perfumes, smoke and even extremely low air temperatures - the so-called cold allergy. Very many of the sick people are trying to find an answer to the question of why someone suffers from allergic reactions, and somebody is completely unreceptive to them. In fact, a huge role in conveying the propensity to allergic reactions is played by genetics and heredity. The genes responsible for allergies are most often inherited from the father or mother, and sometimes from both at once. In the event that only one parent was affected by the propensity to allergic reactions, the chances of obtaining such a gene in the inheritance are about 25%. But if both parents suffered from allergies - the chances are skyrocketing right up to 50-60%
Development of Pollinia
Develops pollinosis following the standardscheme. Through the respiratory tract pollen penetrates and settles on the mucous membrane of the lungs and the airways themselves. Also, the pollen gets and remains on the eye mucosa and the eyeball itself. In the body immediately after the penetration of pollen into it, the process of recognition of the allergen is started. The cells of the immune system are responsible for this process. They immediately begin to produce antibodies (protective bodies) acting on the foreign agent in an overwhelming way. It is this process that doctors - allergists call the process of sensitization. Such a mechanism of the developing tendency of the organism to allergic reactions in the presence of a predisposition in a child can get its start at almost any age of the child. To start the start of such a mechanism, as a rule, quite a small amount of pollen is enough. Externally, this process of sensitization does not manifest itself with absolutely any symptoms and signs. Often, from the first contact with the allergen to the clinical manifestation of signs of an allergic disease, several months or even one year passes. For example, the child was in contact with pollens ragweed. In the event that a child has a predisposition to the occurrence of allergic reactions, in his body immediately begins the process in which the immune system of the child recognizes a foreign agent, in this case - ragweed pollen. After that, the body will immediately begin to develop protective substances - antibodies, which will remain in the body of the child until the next contact - next year - with pollens ragweed. And then even then parents can observe the development of pollinosis in all its "beauty". This process is called the "resolution" process and is the concluding phase in the development of allergic pollinosis. That's why often parents are puzzled why the allergy occurs for no apparent reason, and for those allergens that the child has never had an allergy before. In fact, all this time in the child's body was a process of sensitization, which turned into an allergy.
Symptoms of hay fever
Speaking about the symptoms of pollinosis, the first thing thatIt should be noted that this is the fact that pollinosis is most often an exceptionally seasonal disease, which is repeated cyclically, every year, during the active phase of flowering of certain plants. Pollinosis is always quite typical and an experienced allergist can make no effort to diagnose the disease in time. Typically, an allergy pollinosis has the following symptoms:
- A sick person begins conjunctivitis of allergic origin. There is reddening of the mucous membrane of the eyes, itching, lachrymation, edema of the eyelids and photophobia.
- Simultaneously with conjunctivitis in a sick personthere is an allergic rhinitis, accompanied by swelling of the nasal mucosa, itching and burning in the nose, the release of abundant transparent contents.
- Sneezing.
As a result, nasopharyngeal edema is oftena significant degree of hearing and smell may be reduced, and very often sick people complain of severe headaches. Most strongly and in full, all these symptoms of hay fever are expressed in the morning. This fact is explained by the fact that it is in the morning hours that the level of pollen in the air is greatest. The most important difference between pollen and banal acute respiratory infection is the absence of hyperthermia. The body temperature in a sick person practically never rises above the physiological norm. In the event that a sick person has pollinosis, during his examination the doctor will not notice a typical redness of the mucous membrane of the throat and enlargement of submandibular and ear lymph nodes. In the event that a person suffering from hay fever has the above symptoms, this indicates an associated respiratory illness. As a rule, the joint course of these two diseases greatly increases the severity of the degree of leakage and reduces the effectiveness of treatment of each of them. Antiviral drugs significantly reduce the effect on the human body of antihistamines. The most severe form of pollinosis is the pollinosis, which is accompanied by bronchial asthma, which is allergic to the onset of the disease. This form of asthma is accompanied by allergic conjunctivitis and runny nose. During the flowering period, the sick person experiences more frequent, than usual attacks of suffocation. In the event that a person suffers from bronchial asthma, along with allergic pollinosis, seizures come in a different way and are accompanied by the following symptoms:
- A person can experience a severe headache
- Also, there may be increased irritability and even tearfulness.
- Weakness, sweating, chills.
- Raise body temperature to 38 degrees.
- A sick person experiences a feeling of increased fatigue.
Diagnosis of pollinosis
If you suspect that you or your loved onesfaced with such a disease as seasonal pollinosis, the first thing you need to do is contact your doctor to exclude acute respiratory diseases or diseases that have the nature of an inflammatory nature, for example, acute bronchitis or pneumonia. If other diseases are excluded, you need to see a doctor for an allergist - an immunologist. In large cities, it is in children's polyclinics, residents of small towns, as a rule, are forced to turn to district centers in multidisciplinary medical institutions. If the patient is a child, the first stage of the survey includes a detailed survey of parents about the development of the child, about what diseases he suffered. Further, both adults and children take an analysis of the blood and contents of the nasal mucosa for laboratory examination. The next step will be to determine what kind of pollen is the allergen for a particular person. The most optimal time for carrying out allergological tests is winter time, when the irritating factor - in this case pollen - is absent, and no medication is administered to the patient's body. This allows you to get a more reliable picture of the disease, not "greased" with the use of pharmacological drugs. During the testing for different allergens the level of the immunoglobulin E class in the blood is determined - these are the proteins of the immune system that perform a protective function in the body. Practically all methods of allergic tests are most often performed on an outpatient basis. Hospitalized, as a rule, either children or people with exacerbation of bronchial asthma.
Allergological tests
Most often to determine the allergen, doctorsAllergists apply scarification tests or tests with a prick. These tests are also conducted only in the winter, not less than two weeks after the end of taking drugs that have anti-allergic effect. These tests are conducted as follows. On the forearm, several scratches are made, on top of which drops of preparations are applied, which contain a high concentration of various allergens. Or, these allergens can be injected by subcutaneous injection. After about 20 minutes the doctor estimates the size of each of the scratches, on the basis of which the allergen is detected. The larger the red spot size at the site of the allergen application, the stronger the person has an allergic reaction to this allergen. However, despite the fact that these tests are the most reliable, they are practiced only in children who reached the age of five. For younger children, doctors recommend an alternative method of research - a specific blood test aimed at determining the content of protein antibodies in it that produce the immune system in response to the impact of a particular pollen. Such a method of research is carried out at any time throughout the year, without regard for the patient's state of health and the pharmacological preparations that he receives. For young children, this is the only way to diagnose an allergic disease and identify an allergen. Pollinosis during pregnancy is diagnosed most often in a similar way.
Treatment of Pollinosis
Pollinosis is a seasonal allergy, treatment is alsoit is during the period of exacerbation. However, the most effective measure is the prevention of seasonal allergies. Try to completely exclude the contact of a sick person with an allergen. If there is a possibility, a person needs to leave his region during the flowering of certain plants. It can be a trip to a pioneer camp, to a grandmother or a vacation. If this is not possible, it is necessary to take a number of the following measures:
- Completely exclude country walks on timeflowering plants that cause allergic reactions. Remember that a harmless trip to kebabs on nature can result in a significant deterioration in health.
- Try without extreme need not to leave the room, especially in hot daylight. Remember that in windy weather, the concentration of pollen in the air is approaching the maximum.
- Try to walk in the evening, especiallyuseful walks after the rain or in cloudy weather - at this time there is practically no pollen in the air, it is all nailed to the ground. This time is most optimal for walking.
- On window openings it is necessary to pull a grid orgauze and constantly moisturize them - this will help to hold up most of the pollen. Do not forget to wet the house in a timely and regular way. During cleaning, be sure to use a gauze dressing - this will reduce the likelihood of an allergic reaction to dust and chemistry.
- Try in the room where the sick person sleeps, remove carpets and soft toys, which are wonderful dust collectors.
Prevention of pollinosis also occurs inadherence to a certain diet. If you have a hay fever, the diet will greatly ease your condition. Diet, in fact, very simple, but its compliance helps to avoid many health problems. A sick person should exclude from the diet only a few products:
- It is not recommended to eat chicken, especially the whole leg.
- Chicken eggs.
- During the flowering of fruit trees is not recommended the use of apples, pears, cherries and so on.
- In no case should you tolerate the use of a sick person honey or any other products of beekeeping.
- When taking any medications, make sure that they do not contain any plant components.
- Try to avoid eating foods containing any food colorings.
Do not try to treat seasonal allergies,independently appointing a sick person medication, focusing on advertising or advice of familiar people. That drug, which effectively helps one person, can significantly harm the other. Recommendations how to treat the hay fever will give you a doctor allergist. As a rule, a patient is prescribed a course of treatment with antihistamines, which suppress the allergic reaction. To reduce the unpleasant sensations associated with the common cold, it is recommended to instill special preparations that provide vasoconstrictors. Very often, patients ask the question of how to cure the hay fever, so that it disappears once and for all. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible. In the literature on traditional medicine, you can find material about a disease, like pollinosis. Treatment with folk remedies, unfortunately, does not bring any results in practice. And often in folk recipes are plant ingredients, which can trigger an even stronger allergic reaction. However, despite the fact that spring pollinosis is almost impossible to cure completely, doctors are well aware of how to treat seasonal allergies. This knowledge and preventive measures allow a person suffering from seasonal allergies to lead a full life, and not become a hostage to their own illness. We advise you to read:
