Learn About Dust Mites, Grass, and Other Nasal Allergies
Dr. Storms talks about seasonal allergy types.
Forty million adults and children in the United States suffer from nasal
allergies, also known as allergic rhinitis. If you are one of them, you know
what it's like to live with sneezing, a runny nose, and nasal congestion
(stuffiness). Symptoms of allergies like these can make it difficult to enjoy
each day. Your productivity, too, can suffer. Nasal allergies, in fact, cause
as many as 3.8 million missed work and school days each year in the United
States.
Allergy Triggers
Nasal allergies happen when immune cells in your nasal lining overreact to
certain "allergic triggers" or allergens in the air you breathe. Triggers such
as pollen from trees grasses and weeds are seasonal. Other triggers are present
year-round. These include dust mites, animal dander, indoor and outdoor mold
spores, and insect droppings. These triggers don’t bother people who don't have
nasal allergies.
When your immune system overreacts to triggers, it does so to protect you. Your
body begins to produce antibodies in your nose to fight the allergens. This
causes inflammation and those all too familiar allergy symptoms that can
interfere with your activities and can affect how you feel at home, at work, at
school, and even how you interact with others.
Next: Take the
Allergy Assessment
