h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Hay fever - A12704483
Author: Serephina..Go Team Pie! - U191719

Any comments?

Yes, how did you know I was searching for a hay fever link this morning?

Only typos really; otherwise it's a nice, short informative entry.

(Seasonal allergic rhinitis)is --> (Seasonal allergic rhinitis) is
Unfortunatly --> Unfortunately
respirtory --> respiratory
unpleasent --> unpleasant
Tendancy -->Tendency
heridtary --> hereditary
docor --> doctor
precribe --> prescribe

Spaces between words on:
sprays:including
Drops:To
Immunology:In


Rockhound

updated

It seems rather short. If I was looking for information about hay fever I don't think I'd find it very enlightening. As it happens I have no need to look for information because I know far too much about the subject. You haven't, for instance, mentioned anything about the tests that your doctor might send you for to determine exactly which pollens are causing the allergy, and in the Treatment section there's no mention of the courses of injections which can ease (or, in my case, pretty much cure) hay fever.

In my case I was found to be allergic to grass and rose pollen. We found that out because my hay fever always seemed to start within the same few weeks every year. My doctor noticed this, and he prescribed the usual anti-histamines but also sent me for tests and then prescribed Piriton injections - I think it was eight or ten weekly injections a year for several (I forget how many) years, each round of which had to be completed before the onset of my particular hay fever season.

Now that I've moved to Texas I've discovered that most common pollen-related allergies here are cedar fever (you don't want cedar fever - you *really* don't want cedar fever) and oak fever which I developed after a few years in Austin but didn't seem to get too badly this year. See A2501146

I really think this needs a lot more content to be a useful and informative entry.

immunoglobin - immunoglobulin

Treament - Treatment

Agree with others that this needs more content

Ref "Hay fever (Seasonal allergic rhinitis) is a very common ailment with almost 20 percent of the UK population suffering at some time".

> I think 20% is somewhat high. According to a leaflet produced by Boots, HF is THE most common allergic reaction, afflicting about 10% of the population.

It’s most common among teenagers and young adults, with about 1 in 6 teenagers affected. Often clears up completely in the mid-30s (This is what happened to me ).
Might be worth saying what are the most common causes of HF which are pollens usually from grasses, but sometimes from trees or moulds (If I recall I think I have a rogues gallery of tree pollens which I’ll post later). Being released in Spring or early Summer, HF is most severe at this time, and makes studying for June and July exams particularly challenging (I found this as well .nb Ask examinations officer if you can be seated away from windows. This needs to be done well in advance – not on the day - as schools have to provide seating plans to examination authorities.)
Ref ‘Treatment, you missed out the obvious one which is avoiding walking in long grass, keeping windows closed, both in the house and in the car, wearing sunglasses on sunny days (when pollen is most likely to be released) This will prevent pollen and spores from coming into contact with eyes. Listen for the ‘pollen-cast which is often given on radio and TV and plan your activities accordingly. A pollen count of 50 grains or more per cubic metre is likely to affect most HF sufferers.

Splashing cold water onto your eyes will soothe them. (When I first started getting HF around the age of 9-10 my GP recommended bathing eyes in cold tea. Not sure which specific chemical in tea is responsible. Wonder whether it contains antihistamines?)

Antihistamines:Worth saying that early AH’s caused drowsiness, but modern ones are less prone to this. Obviously a consideration when driving, operating machinery etc. The drowsiness effect is exacerbated by consuming alcohol, so stick to soft drinks..
Nasal sprays: These are decongestants. They can be taken together with AH’s for extra relief. Also available in tablet form or as nose drops.

HF Months
If symptoms start early in season then culprit likely to be tree pollen.

Jan to April = alder
Feb-April=elm
Feb-May = willow
April-May = birch
May only = common chestnut
June-July = lime


If symptoms start in May or June, then culprit is likely to be grass or rye pollen. This will carry on until September

If you experience symptoms from Spring through to Autumn, then culprit likely to be mould spores, such as Cladosporium or Alternia [use italics for these Latin names], or weed pollen such as nettles or dandelions.

You're getting rather concentrated on the UK there Al - those dates and trees bear no relation to where I live

Oops

"Might be worth saying what are the most common causes of HF which are pollens usually from grasses, but sometimes from trees or moulds"

If you're allergic to mould it's not hayfever (which as Serephina points out is seasonal) - it's perenial allergic rhinitis, so is not necessary to include in an entry about hay fever.

I'd like to see the entry include both, as the symptoms are pretty much the same and so is treatment, but I'll leave that with you.

I think it should be clear that histamine is actually a good thing - the problem with hayfever is that it's released unecesarily and far too much of it. I'm not entirely sure of this, but I think it's necesary to deal with real allergens, it's just that it also gets confused and treats perfectly innocent substances such as pollen as an allergen. It's also used for other things I think.

Nose drops have already been mentioned, but these can be prescribed by a doctor, I don't think they can be bought over a counter. They should be 'inserted' not by tipping your head back, but by kneeling down and putting your head on the floor so that the drops don't just run straight down your throat and should be considered a short course, not a long term treatment.

Another treatment for severe symptons include syringing out your nose with a very dilute salt water solution *before* using any nasal treatment as this helps to wash out the allergens. And yes, it's pretty disgusting, but it can really help.

I've also found it very soothing to wear one of those eye masks that can be kept in the fridge when my whole face hurts. I only do it on the very worst days, but at least twice this week I've had to use mine. I didn't want to take it off to go to work, but I can barely see where I'm going when I'm wearing it.

Should nasal polyps be mentioned at this stage? They can grow from the irritation caused by allergens, and are linked to asthma as well, which is already mentioned in the entry.

one thing I forgot, if you've got asthma and use a nasal spray, use the spray *first*, because they can trigger wheezing.

I suffer from hayfever and find using Beconaze nasal spray a great relief, its a mild steroid. wearing sunglasses helps as well. When my eyeballs feels as if needles are pinpricking them, I dip my face in a bowl of water and open my eyes to wash the pollen away.

Good entry, but i agree with others that it should be longer to be much use.

You may want to mention alternative therapies for hayfever relief, such as taking a spoonful of local honey. This works by exposing the body to the pollen in a way so that it can build up a form of resistance to it, so the body's response to it reduces. Im not sure whether it is working in my case as yet since i live in london and tracking down local honey is somewhat difficult, though i have succeeded in buying some, but only in the last week or so. Apparently best to start taking it before hayfever season.

There are numerous natural remedies around from homeopathic to putting damp tea bags on your eyes, but ill leave you to search for them on the web...

You may also want to go into more detail about the allergic response caused by the pollen and more into the importance of histamines, which though a pain when it comes to hayfever, are very useful in their own way.

Ill see if i can find my old a level textbook to give a description of an allergic response

Thankd everyone , Ive not forgotton about this , just got a bit on in RL at the mo n its too hot to think much

In my opinion, if you're going to mention IgE then you should also name the cells that release histamine (mast cells + basophils).

You might also mention the effects that histamine has on cells in various places (blood vessel dilation, bronchial constriction, irritation) and that anti-histamines act by stopping the histamine from affecting the cells by blocking the H1 histamine receptors on the cells.

Meanwhile, as someone has rightly said, corticosteroid nasal sprays act as decongestants - this is by reducing inflammation through downregulating the local immune response.

There are also non-steroid decongestants. One thing to note about these though - rely on them too much, and you'll become dependent on them eg use them too much and your nose will become lazy, becoming congested even without hay fever.

Anti-histamines can cause drowsiness, but some do not, so it's basically a matter of reading the label.

If you're going to mention local honey - mention drinking nettle infusions as well. That's an old remedy, it works, and it doesn't taste as nasty as it sounds. I love the smell (when I've got a sense of smell of course) and taste of nettles, although I'm not sure I'd go so far as to try soup.

Other good things (though not quite as as Naim's suggestion) - decongestants such as menthol and hot lemon which you might use when you have the 'flu.

Just drinking a cup of spearmint, milk thistle and nettle tea. It's working quite nicely on the back of my nose, but the other hayfever symptoms are still there.

Sereph, are you still working on this ?

I will be once I get off these dopey inducing pain killers

Ouch! No rush, it'll be here when you're ready to come back to it.