Autumn allergy

Content: 
Birch pollen
Ragweed pollen 
Fallen leaves
Mold
Urban dirt
Litter and animal hair
Barn mite
House dust mite
Climatic anomalies

It would seem what kind of allergy can be in the fall? Usually, the time of allergies is spring and summer, and in cold seasons, the allergy is only to the cold.

At the end of October, rains nailed the remains of pollen to the ground. But allergy sufferers continue to scratch their nose, the symptoms of atopic dermatitis are aggravated, and someone sneezes and coughs in a warm apartment.

And my son had a reaction in the fall, although he is really allergic to birch. We went to the doctors, took tests, tried to find out what was going on.

As it turned out, there can be many options.

Autumn birch pollen allergy

Autumn birch pollen allergy

Birch pollen forms in September and October. I understand that this is one of the stages of pollen formation.

Probably some pollen is released into the air and allergy sufferers who are sensitive to birch develop symptoms.

If you observe the weather in the fall, you can predict the aggressiveness of pollen during birch flowering in spring. The sudden changes from heat to cold cause the tree to create more adaptable, aggressive pollen. Such pollen will be an additional burden on the body of an allergic person.

What to do

  • If you or your child is allergic to birch and an unfamiliar reaction develops in the fall, see an allergist. The doctor will prescribe medications that can relieve symptoms: antihistamines, hormones. Most likely, you will have to pass additional tests to exclude a new type of allergy that could join.
  • Wear an allergy mask when you go out.
  • Try barriers to the nasal mucosa: Aquamaris Ectoin, Nazaval.
  • Use breathers and air cleaner at home.
  • Take a shower when you come home from the street.
  • Rinse and moisturize mucous membranes.
  • Monitor the microclimate in the apartment – use humidifiers and be sure to properly care for them.
  • Treatment with AIT. Thanks to immunotherapy, my child forgot about autumn reactions.

Ragweed pollen

In the south and in central Russia, ambrosia blooms until early October. Winds carry pollen even where ragweed does not grow, and where sensitive allergy sufferers will react to this aggressive allergen.

Follow the monitoring of allergens in your city.

Fallen leaves

опавшие листья

Autumn leaves are not at all harmless – they are the most common cause of allergies in the fall. The herbarium can be an exam for the immune system of an allergic person.
And that’s why.

Mold

Mold loves heaps of autumn leaves, where it is dark and humid.

Some types of mold spread in dry and windy weather, while others prefer fog and moisture.

The most common types of mold in autumn foliage are Cladasporium, Alternaria, Aspergillosis.

Mold spores are very small and are easily airborne over long distances. They irritate the mucous membrane, enter the bronchi, provoke allergy symptoms and exacerbate atopic dermatitis.

Mold is a powerful irritant and sensitive allergy sufferers can react to it – even if they don’t have a true mold allergy.

If the immune system is weak, colonies of mold, such as Aspergillosis, can easily settle in the human body.

On the street, mold spores attack allergy sufferers from July to late autumn, until the first frost. In an apartment, mold can annoy allergy sufferers all year round.

плесень

 

What to do

  • Wear masks for allergy sufferers outside. Check to see if your mask saves mold spores and how often you need to change the filter.
  • Shower after your walk.
  • Moisturize the nasal mucosa with saline or pharmacy saline solutions.
  • Try mucosal barriers: Aquamaris Ectoin, Nazaval.
  • Wash your street clothes more often.
  • Wash your pets after walking.
  • Monitor the microclimate in the apartment, use dehumidifiers.
  • Make sure there is no mold in the apartment. Check the bathroom, air conditioner, refrigerator, inspect the windows – condensation loves Alternaria. Food and the land where houseplants are planted are favorite habitats for mold.
  • Если установлена аллергия на плесень, подберите с аллергологом лекарственную терапию и задумайтесь об АСИТ.
    В России нет зарегистрированных препаратов для АСИТ от плесени, но многие аллергологи находят выход из сложившейся ситуации 🙂

Urban dirt

In summer and autumn, the leaves collect and absorb all the urban dirt – dust, pollen, reagents.

Faeces and animal hair

кошка осенью

There is a lot of excrement and animal hair in the leaves – dogs, cats, pigeons, rats, mice. If a child loves to swarm in the foliage, it can threaten not only an allergic reaction, but also other diseases: from conjunctivitis, dermatitis, E. coli, to salmonellosis and chlamydia.

What to do

  1. Don’t let children play in the foliage..
  2. If leaves need to be removed, use a mask and gloves, which can then be discarded.
  3. Don’t bring herbariums home.

Barn mites

Barn mites

Well, we have no barns and barn mites. Do you think so? No matter how it is. The barn mite is found not only in flour and cereals, but also in the soil, stems and roots of plants, bird nests and animal burrows.

Barn mites love mold as a delicacy like oysters. Therefore, mites love to live on fall foliage.

For allergy sufferers, a house dust mite is not too different from a barn mite. Both contain similar protein allergens. Therefore, it can be assumed that if there is a reaction to a house dust mite, there will be a barn one.

Somewhere I met information that mites can cross-react with mold. I checked with allergists and found out that no one knows a specific cross-protein, but in practice, cross-reactions are common.

House dust mite

House dust mite

House mite In the fall, the symptoms of allergy sufferers sensitive to house dust mites intensify. Reason number one: it’s cold outside, we ventilate less often, the heating hasn’t been turned on yet, and the apartment is humid.

In such conditions, the mites actively reproduces. Allergy sufferers suffer from stuffy nose, red eyes and exacerbation of atopic dermatitis.

Reason number two is dry air. When heating is turned on, dry air replaces moist air. The air dries mucous membranes and skin, which become sieve-like and allow allergens to pass through.

Frequent airing does not help either – when it is cold, moisture leaves through the open windows. Don’t believe me? Check it yourself on the hygrometer 🙂

What to do

  • Monitor the microclimate in the house: use humidifiers, cover batteries.
  • Take care of your skin: use emollients, cold creams before going outside
  • Cover the bed with special anti-mite covers.
  • Wash bed linen more often at a temperature of at least 60 grams.
  • Wet cleaning is great too.
  • Contact your allergist for help in choosing drug therapy.
  • If you have a confirmed allergy to house dust mites, discuss ASIT immunotherapy with your allergist.

Climatic anomalies

Every year the weather brings us new surprises. The temperature changes and the flowering schedules of plants change.

For example, in 2019, autumn in Moscow was abnormally warm, and hazel trees bloomed in October. Allergy sufferers were surprised to notice their spring reactions, but could not understand the reason for their poor health.

What to do

Track the blooming time of allergens in your and neighboring regions with pollen monitoring systems. Watch the weather.

 

We have finished with the main causes of autumn allergies, and now a few words about the exacerbation of some diseases.

Vasomotor rhinitis

Vasomotor rhinitis is a malfunction of the vessels in the nose. If in the fall and winter it runs from the nose, it hurts in the throat, and a slight cough suffers, then you are familiar with rhinitis.

Worse the situation:

  1. Changes in humidity: damp outside, dry at home.
  2. Evaporation of decaying foliage.
  3. Nasal medications – barriers, hormones, vasoconstrictors.

Adenoiditis

Mucous allergy is very sensitive – it looks like a sieve, according to one ENT.

During the heating season, the air is dry, and viruses and allergens swarm in it, which easily penetrate the body.

Adenoids stand in the way of viruses, which often cannot afford such a struggle and they grow and become inflamed.

Bronchial asthma

In the autumn – winter period, bronchial asthma is also aggravated.

Allergy to fallen leaves is not limited to humans. If animals are fiddling with foliage for a long time, they can develop conjunctivitis, rhinitis, allergic dermatitis, or digestive problems.

Atopic dermatitis

A chronic illness that also worsens during the heating season.

The skin becomes dry and irritated. The trouble is that allergens easily penetrate through the affected skin, to which the body can begin to react over time.

Remember to take good care of your skin and avoid irritants: tight-fitting, synthetic and wool clothing, pet hair, dust.

Exacerbations of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

In the fall, stomach and intestinal problems worsen. Little sun, rain, stress – all this badly affects the digestive tract.

Problems with the gastrointestinal tract often provoke pseudo-allergic reactions, which are sometimes confused with true allergies: runny nose, cough, skin rashes, urticaria, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.

If you find these symptoms in yourself, visit a gastroenterologist or allergist.

Take care of yourself and your pets.

 

Autumn allergy

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