Many people are allergic to pollen
Pollen allergies or seasonal allergic rhinitis impacts the health of over 50 million people each year, according to the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology. Pollen allergies not only result in a number of unpleasant symptoms; they can also cause or exacerbate related conditions, such as asthma and respiratory infections.
Allergies
Allergies are sensitivities to certain substances---including foods, dust, animal dander and pollen--- that people come in contact with nearly every day. In normal people, such contact has no ill effects. The bodies of allergic people, however, are sensitive to these substances.
Genetic Causes of Allergies
Individuals tend to inherit the tendency to have allergies from one or both parents. Though specific allergies, such as a pollen allergy, cannot be inherited, the likelihood of having the same or similar reaction is increased.
Other Causes of Allergies
Pregnancy, viral infections and puberty can also increase the probability of developing allergies because the body's defenses and immune system are weakened at these times.
Pollen Allergies
Pollen is a difficult allergy because for most people it cannot be avoided. The most common source of pollen allergies is from trees, grasses and weeds. Each individual plant is able to produce millions of pollen spores in a single day, and plants produce pollen throughout the world, at many different times of the year.
Pollen in the Body
When pollen spores dislodge from the plant and become airborne, they can enter your nose and throat. In people who are allergic, pollen triggers a reaction in specialized cells known as mast cells. A mast cell or mastocyte contains histamine, which is released into the bloodstream during an allergic reaction. This causes many of the symptoms associated with pollen allergies -- such as runny eyes and nose, nasal congestion, sinus pressure, and itching and irritation.
Tags: allergic pollen, allergies from, allergies such, Causes Allergies, people allergic, people allergic pollen, pollen spores