Spring Health Post丨Does pollen allergy mean reduced immunity? How to distinguish it from a cold?

It is the season of spring flowers blooming, and it is also the peak season for pollen allergies. Many people think that pollen allergies mean reduced immunity. Is this true? How to distinguish pollen allergies from colds? How to effectively reduce allergy symptoms? Today's spring health post will show you how.

01→ Hay fever is a type of allergic rhinitis

Wang Min, chief physician of the Department of Otolaryngology at Peking University People's Hospital, said that allergic rhinitis can be divided into two types due to different onset times: seasonal rhinitis and perennial allergic rhinitis. Seasonal allergic rhinitis in spring and autumn is caused by the patient's allergy to pollen, also known as "hay fever."

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02→ What are the main symptoms of pollen allergy?

Wang Xueyan, director of the Allergy Center of Beijing Century Memorial Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, introduced that the main symptoms of pollen allergy are itchy nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, and watery runny nose. Some patients may also have itchy eyes, itchy ears, itchy palate, itchy throat, itchy skin, urticaria, etc. Severe cases may also be accompanied by cough, chest tightness, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.

03→ How to distinguish between pollen allergy and cold

Because the symptoms of pollen allergy are similar to those of a cold, many pollen allergy sufferers mistakenly think they have a cold. How do you differentiate between pollen allergy and a cold?

Colds are usually caused by viruses. In addition to nasal symptoms, there will be symptoms such as throat pain, body aches, and low fever. If you have influenza, you will have a high fever and symptoms all day after the onset of the disease. The symptoms will not be relieved immediately after taking medicine, and they will generally heal on their own in about a week.

Patients with hay fever do not have systemic symptoms. The disease mostly occurs in the morning and there are no symptoms when it is not in an attack. The history of the disease is more than one week, lasting throughout the pollen dispersion period. The symptoms are quickly relieved after taking medication.

04→ Does pollen allergy mean reduced immunity?

People often hear friends say that allergic rhinitis caused by pollen allergy is due to a recent decrease in immunity. Is this true?

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Wang Min, chief physician of the Department of Otolaryngology at Peking University People's Hospital, said that hay fever is not caused by high or low immunity, but is an allergic reaction related to individual specific constitution. In other words, whether the immunity is weak or strong, immune abnormalities may occur, causing the body to misjudge normal and harmless substances, resulting in immune errors and allergic reactions.

Wang Xueyan, director of the Allergy Center of Beijing Century Memorial Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, also said that patients who are allergic to pollen generally have an immune dysfunction. The body's immune system mistakenly identifies originally harmless pollen as "harmful substances" and produces a series of abnormal immune responses in order to eliminate the "harmful substances."

05→ How to relieve pollen allergy symptoms?

1-2 weeks before peak pollen season

Preventive medication can be used to alleviate the severe symptoms during the peak pollen season. If the symptoms were mild in previous years, local nasal sprays can be used in advance, and eye drops can be used for those with eye symptoms. For those with more severe symptoms, oral antihistamines and leukotriene receptor antagonists can be taken in advance.

Peak pollen season

Try to avoid pollen environments, reduce outdoor activities, and avoid going to gardens or the wild. If you must be outdoors, wear a mask, face shield, glasses, and use pollen barrier agents. Change outer clothes when going from outdoors to indoors, clean the nose and cheeks, use fresh air and other air filtration equipment in the bedroom, and close doors and windows.

06→ I didn’t have pollen allergies before, what’s the reason why I’m allergic now?

Some people in our lives did not have allergies before, but now start to have snot and tears during the pollen season. Why is this?

Wang Min, chief physician of the Department of Otolaryngology at Peking University People's Hospital, introduced that as one of the most common allergic diseases of the respiratory tract, the cause of allergic rhinitis is determined by both environmental and genetic factors. Studies have shown that people with a family history of allergic rhinitis have a relative risk of developing allergic rhinitis that is 2 to 6 times higher than those without a family history. In addition to genetic factors, the impact of environmental factors cannot be ignored. For example, changes in air quality, increased mental stress of modern people, changes in dietary structure, etc., all have an impact on inducing allergies.

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07→ Can pollen allergy be cured?

Wang Min, chief physician of the Department of Otolaryngology at Peking University People's Hospital, introduced that there is currently no cure for allergic rhinitis, but immunotherapy is effective for a long time after the treatment is stopped and can be said to be a relatively "eradicating" method.

Patients with pollen allergies can go to the hospital to check for allergens. After the allergens are identified, desensitization treatment can be carried out through standardized vaccines, that is, immunotherapy, which is the only causal treatment for patients with pollen fever. Another great advantage of immunotherapy is that it can greatly reduce the risk of asthma in patients.

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