Dan Johnson, age 14, of Denton, Texas, for his question:
WHY DO I HAVE HAY FEVER?
Hay fever is an allergy that occurs most often during the spring, summer and fall months. You have hay fever because you are allergic to the pollen produced by all sorts of grasses, trees and weeds. Symptoms of hay fever include runny, red and itching eyes and a runny, stopped up nose.
Did you know that about 6 percent of the people living in the United States have hay fever? And like most allergies, hay fever runs in families. A person can develop the allergy at any age.
The medical name for hay fever is "pollinosis."
A hay fever victim will have repeated periods of sneezing and may even temporarily lose his sense of smell. His ears may be stopped up as well.
About one third of those who suffer from hay fever develop seasonal asthma. Hay fever also may result in sinusitis, a sinus infection. In addition, it may cause the development of infections or of growths called "polyps" in the mucous membrane.
The most common cause of hay fever in the U.S. is the pollen from the ragweed plant. In most areas, ragweed produces pollen in the summer or fall.
Russian thistle is another major cause of hay fever in Utah and New Mexico. Airborne fungi and molds can also cause the allergy in some persons or even increase the seriousness of the symptoms.
Hay fever can be prevented or made less severe by simply avoiding the offending pollens. But, unfortunately, this isn't always easy to do.
In many newspapers and on some radio and TV stations, daily local pollen indexes are presented during the summer months. These figures are based on the number of ragweed pollen grains in one cubic yard of air.
Some communities have tried to eliminate ragweed but, unfortunately, wind carries the pollen.
Most doctors prescribe antihistamines for hay fever victims. These drugs often provide quick relief. But drugs must be taken only under a doctor's supervision because they can cause extremely dangerous side effects in some persons.
There are drugs that are sometimes recommended by doctors to lessen the swelling of the membranes lining the nose and reduce the running of the nose. Such medications as cortisone and ACTH may be effective, especially if the patient also has symptoms of asthma.
If the patient is very sensitive to pollen, the doctor sometimes will prescribe hyposensitization. This treatment involves injection of pollen extract into the patient's body at regular intervals, slowly increasing the strength of the concentration of the extract. The injections cause the body to form antibodies to help fight the allergic reaction.
In most cases, this therapy helps provide at least some relief from hay fever symptoms.