Avoid and treat seasonal allergies this semester

allergic to pollen reacts as if pollen were a flu virus and calls on the entire immune system to help. Typical seasonal allergy symptoms include bouts of sneezing, itchy nose, congestion, runny nose, itchy, watery eyes and/or itchy palate.

Health Nut

Allergies occur when your immune system overreacts to something normally found in our environment. If you have allergies, your immune system reacts to harmless substances as if they were a real emergency. Those substances are called allergens because they trigger an allergic response.

For example, the body of a person

Less often, severe cases of seasonal allergies may be accompanied by additional symptoms due to irritation of the mucous membranes of the eyes; of the Eustachian tube of the middle ear linings; and of the sinuses on either side of the nose. The resulting symptoms can include: itchy, reddened, watery eyes, ear popping and fullness, itchy throat and/or pressure sensations located over the cheeks and forehead.

The best way to get relief from allergies is to avoid the allergen, especially since repeated exposure tends to make the symptoms worse.

Some ways to avoid allergens are to keep windows closed to prevent pollens