Dear Dr. Prescott,
Everyone in my family has terrible allergies. In recent years, they’ve gotten even worse. In fact, it seems like everyone I know has allergy issues these days. What causes allergies, and what has changed to make them such a problem for so many people?
Danny Smith, Oklahoma City
If you have allergies, your immune system confuses innocuous things like pet dander and pollen for true bad guys like viruses and bacteria. As a result, when these allergens enter your body, your immune system sends in special fighters called mast cells armed with antibodies to combat the interlopers.
When your immune system surrounds, attacks and eliminates substances like pollen, it causes a chain reaction that releases histamines—which your own body makes—into the system. The histamines can cause inflammation in the nose and throat, mucus production and watering eyes.
So why, you ask, are allergies getting worse? That may have something to do with the weather.
A very cold winter can kill off or slow the growth of many plants. The longer the winter, the longer those plants remain dormant.
Here in Oklahoma, we’ve had a rash of mild winters in recent years. When spring rolls around (and it seems to get here earlier every year), plants have more months to grow and reproduce. Couple that with the drought-like conditions we’re experiencing, and you have a perfect allergy-inducing storm.
Plants live to reproduce, so they send out enormous amounts of pollen into the air. If it rains, the pollen gets washed away. But dry and windy summers keep the pollen in the air longer and spread it further. Unfortunately for you and me, that gives our bodies more concentrated and prolonged exposure to allergens. That, in turn, causes our immune systems to overreact, leaving us with watery eyes and sniffles.
I might recommend avoiding the outdoors, especially when pollen counts are high. But we can’t live our lives inside, so as long as the allergens are there, it’s worth looking for ways to lessen their effects.
Over-the-counter antihistamines may provide some relief and help tame your seasonal allergy symptoms. But if it becomes an ongoing nuisance, consider talking to an allergist, who may prescribe a medication that can more effectively counteract your allergies and dry up your runny nose and watery eyes. It’ll at least help you keep your tissue supply well stocked.
