With the season of sniffling and sneezing in full swing, you may be surprised to discover that what you thought you knew about seasonal allergies may not be true.
With the in full swing, you may be surprised to discover that what you thought you knew about seasonal allergies may not be true. You’re hardly alone. An estimated 40 to 60 million people in the U.S. suffer from allergic rhinitis (aka hay fever), according to the , and yet many have misconceptions about seasonal allergies.
“One of the biggest misconceptions people have about allergic rhinitis is that it’s a trivial condition — it’s certainly not trivial to the people who have it,” says , an allergist/immunologist at and past president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. “Besides causing considerable discomfort, seasonal allergies can disrupt sleep and cause fatigue and lost productivity.”
Here are six other things many of us don’t realize about seasonal allergies.
You can develop hay fever as an adult even if you didn鈥檛 have it as a child
While it鈥檚 common for allergies to emerge in childhood or young adulthood, 鈥減eople can develop allergic rhinitis at any age,鈥� says , an allergist and clinical immunologist at in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 鈥淓ven elderly people can develop significant symptoms for the first time.鈥� In those who come from an allergy-prone family, the predisposition to develop an allergy is always present, but what brings it out at a certain age or stage of life isn鈥檛 yet understood. So if you develop symptoms such as sneezing, a , or itching of your eyes, mouth or skin in the spring, summer or early fall, don鈥檛 dismiss the possibility that it could be due to a tree, grass or weed allergy. You might have developed one of these allergies even if you didn鈥檛 have hay fever when you were younger.
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What you鈥檙e allergic to can change over time
If you were reactive to grass pollen as a child, it鈥檚 not out of the realm of possibility that you could develop an allergy to certain trees or weeds later in life. The truth is, . 鈥淪ome of it has to do with changes in exposure or the intensity of a particular pollen season,鈥� Schatz says.
Plus, if you get allergy shots for, say, a , you might develop immunity to that particular allergen. But since you still have an allergic tendency, years later you might develop an allergy to certain trees that you didn鈥檛 previously react to. But without immunotherapy, which helps your body become desensitized to the effects of a particular allergen over time, 鈥渨e typically don鈥檛 see allergies disappear,鈥� Hartog says.
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Seasonal allergies can trigger asthma flare-ups
Many people don鈥檛 realize the extent to which allergies and are connected. 鈥淓ighty percent of kids with asthma have some environmental allergies, and we often see asthma flares in allergy season,鈥� Hartog says. Sometimes this phenomenon is referred to as allergic asthma, which means that allergens such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or shortness of breath. 鈥淭hat needs to be treated differently than allergies are 鈥� namely, with medications such as inhaled steroids or bronchodilators for the asthma symptoms,鈥� Schatz says. There鈥檚 also an injectable drug called Xolair (omalizumab), which is designed to treat moderate to severe persistent allergic asthma, Hartog notes.
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Moving to a new geographic region won鈥檛 cure your allergies
If you have allergies and you , 鈥測ou may have a year or two where you鈥檙e much better, but then the body catches up and you can develop new allergies to stuff in the new environment,鈥� Hartog says. The reality is, every geographic region has allergens in the environment. So even if you ditch your ragweed allergy by moving west of the Rockies, for example, 鈥渋f you have a tendency toward allergy, you can develop allergies to local pollens such as grass pollens,鈥� Schatz says.
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It鈥檚 best to start taking antihistamines聽before you have symptoms
Believe it or not, it鈥檚 more effective to try to prevent allergy symptoms than to try to eliminate them. Here鈥檚 why: 鈥淲ith the process of allergy, histamine [a chemical that鈥檚 part of the immune response] is released, and by the time the person has symptoms such as nasal congestion, itching and sneezing, histamines are already present,鈥� Schatz explains. 鈥淚f you start taking antihistamines before symptoms appear, they can block histamine before it has an effect on you.鈥� If your have a pretty consistent seasonal pattern, it鈥檚 best to start taking antihistamines on a daily basis a week or two before the offending type of pollen emerges. Since the release of pollens can vary from year to year, allergists often recommend starting your medication regimen in early February if you鈥檙e allergic to trees, early June if you鈥檙e allergic to grasses and early August if you鈥檙e allergic to ragweed.
Keep in mind, though, that while antihistamines help with sneezing and itchiness, they usually don鈥檛 help with nasal stuffiness, which is better relieved by using a nasal steroid spray along with an antihistamine, Schatz says. Since nasal steroid sprays take a week or two to have the desired anti-inflammatory effects, you should also start using these before symptoms appear, Hartog adds.
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Allergy shots are not the only long-term solution
Allergy shots used to be the lone long-term solution before sublingual tablets, which dissolve under your tongue, became available in 2014 for certain . Taken once a day at home starting several months before and continuing during allergy season, these tablets desensitize you to specific allergens by introducing them into your body in tiny amounts; over time, your immune system builds up a tolerance to the allergens and becomes less reactive to them in the environment, thereby preventing symptoms.
Taking the tablets is certainly more convenient than having to go to a doctor for weekly or monthly allergy shots, Schatz says. 鈥淭he tablets are very effective and they have the potential to bring allergy desensitization to more patients.鈥� The main drawback: If you鈥檙e allergic to multiple allergens, you won鈥檛 be able to cure the problem with just one type of tablet.
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