Symptoms of hay fever

introduction

The symptoms of hay fever are many.
Since hay fever is an allergic reaction to allergens in the air, the respiratory tract is most affected. Coughs and runny nose occur, but the eyes and skin can also show symptoms.

Overview of the typical symptoms

• eyes

  • Watery eyes

  • Reddened eyes

  • Swollen eyes

  • Itchy / burning eyes

• nose

  • Runny nose

  • Sneeze

  • Epistaxis

• neck

  • to cough

  • hoarseness

  • Sore throat

• skin

  • skin rash

  • Wheals

• a headache

• Shortness of breath

• fatigue

• Body aches

• Exhaustion

to cough

Coughing with hay fever is usually caused by irritation of the throat or the airways.
The cause is the pollen, which settles in the throat and bronchial tubes when inhaled and causes a coughing sensation there. This cough is usually dry because it is not associated with the production of mucus in the airways and serves to get the pollen out of the body as quickly as possible.
Another cause may be postnasal drip syndrome be. When pollen irritates the mucous membranes, they produce a particularly large amount of fluid. This not only drips outwards from the nose but also flows backwards into the throat, where it can in turn trigger a cough. The cough in hay fever is usually associated with other symptoms, such as itchy eyes and a runny nose.
Hay fever can also cause a chronic inflammatory reaction in the airways. This results in chronic bronchitis or asthma, which can cause coughing attacks even outside of the hay fever season.

You may also be interested in this topic: Home remedies for coughs

hoarseness

In most cases, the cause of hoarseness is a problem with the vocal cords.
In connection with hay fever, an inflammatory reaction is triggered in the upper respiratory tract. The pollen trigger an excessive reaction of the immune system. Among other things, this can lead to swelling of the vocal cords, which causes hoarseness.
A dry and irritated throat, which is also caused by the pollen, additionally increases the symptoms on the vocal cords. Because this can trigger another inflammatory reaction. The pollen also often leads to a foreign body sensation in the throat and upper airways. Therefore, affected people may feel that they have to clear their throat frequently. This can additionally irritate the vocal cords, which are already affected, and thus increase the hoarseness and prolong the persistence of the symptoms.

Read more on the subject at: Inflammation of the vocal cords

Sore throat

With hay fever, the body reacts excessively to pollen entering the airways from outside. This leads to symptoms such as itching and a scratchy throat in the upper respiratory tract.
The itching and scratching irritates the mucous membrane of the throat in addition to the already irritating pollen, which can settle there for a short time. This leads to an inflammatory reaction in the throat, which can cause pain and swelling. In addition, there is often an urge to cough. The cough, in turn, irritates the lining of the throat, which in turn can make the sore throat worse.
With hay fever, the mouth and throat are typically particularly dry. The protective functions of saliva are reduced or even completely eliminated, which increases symptoms such as sore throat, cough and hoarseness. A reduction in the protective barrier also makes it easier for bacteria to penetrate the mucous membrane of the throat. This can lead to additional bacterial infections, which also trigger inflammation and the associated sore throat.
The pollen that gets into the throat when inhaled triggers an excessive function of the body. Histamine, a substance intended to combat the pollen that has penetrated, is released. At the same time, the histamine makes the nerve endings in the neck more sensitive. Therefore, slight pain stimuli in the throat are perceived much more strongly.

Also read:

• Inflammation in the throat
• Scratchy throat

skin rash

Pollen, which causes hay fever in many allergy sufferers, does not only enter the body through the airways.
They can also get attached to the skin and enter the body in this way. The result is rashes, severe itching and drying out of the skin. The body defends itself against the pollen on the skin, various immune cells are released. However, the immune system's excessive response to the pollen releases too many cells, causing itching and rashes.
Good skin care regimen can strengthen the skin barrier, thereby reducing the body's response.

You may also be interested in this article: Rash - What To Do?

Wheals

Wheals are the result of hives, which can be triggered by various substances in allergy sufferers. Wheals, for example, also occur in many affected people as a result of hay fever.
The wheals are many small blisters that suddenly appear on the skin. Their occurrence is triggered by the body or the immune system coming into contact with pollen. Other symptoms are redness around the wheals. In addition, there is severe itching. An allergy tablet is usually sufficient for treatment. This contains the active ingredient that inhibits histamine and thereby counteracts the excessive reaction of the immune system.

Read more on the subject at: Wheals on the skin

fatigue

For most people, hay fever is limited to a certain period of the year.
During this time, various pollen flies, which cause a strong immune reaction in the body. Due to the immune response, the body is permanently on the alert, it produces an excessive number of immune cells. Other body functions such as the cardiovascular system are also ramped up. In addition, other hormones are also increasingly released. As a result, the body uses up excessive amounts of energy, which leads to a decline in performance, difficulty concentrating and general tiredness.
The pronounced daytime sleepiness is particularly striking. Other allergy symptoms such as a runny nose, watery eyes and difficult breathing make this tiredness worse. Headaches, which can also be triggered by hay fever, also contribute to the feeling of tiredness. The tiredness disappears after the pollen, to which the body reacts strongly, no longer flies through the air.The body first has to recover, the immune cells produced have to be broken down. The body then goes down on alert again so that it is recovered after a few days.

You might also be interested in this topic: Air purifier for allergies

a headache

Headaches with hay fever are usually caused by the sinuses.
The pollen that humans inhale through the nose settles there and triggers an inflammatory reaction. This also affects the sinuses, which are where mucus accumulates and is difficult to drain away. This creates pressure in the sinuses that can spread to the entire head in the form of a headache. Drinking a lot helps against headaches. In this way, the mucus liquefies and flows off better.

More on this: Sinus infection

Shortness of breath

With hay fever, the body reacts excessively to pollen. These are inhaled and thus settle in the airways and lungs. The body then starts its immune defense and releases various substances that are supposed to fight the pollen.
However, this inflammatory reaction also leads to swelling of the mucous membranes. This leads to acute shortness of breath. But the blocked sinuses and a constantly runny nose also cause shortness of breath. This is not as seizure-like as when the airways become blocked, but it nonetheless leads to reduced physical performance.

Similar topics that might interest you: Asthmatic attack

asthma

If asthma occurs in connection with hay fever, one speaks of allergic asthma.
Foreign substances such as pollen trigger an immune reaction in the bronchial system, i.e. the smallest airways in the lungs. The excessively strong defense reaction of the body causes the mucous membrane in the bronchi to swell. The tiny airways can thereby be completely closed.
The symptoms of hay fever usually begin with watery eyes and a runny nose. Over several years, a so-called floor change takes place, in which not only the upper but also the lower airways react to the pollen.

Also read: Causes of asthma

Epistaxis

In people suffering from hay fever, foreign proteins (mostly components of pollen) trigger an allergic reaction.
In the nose, this causes the mucous membrane to swell. As a rule, the blood circulation improves because the body wants to transport many so-called inflammation mediators into the nasal mucosa, which are supposed to fight the pollen there. In addition, a lot of mucus is produced, which is supposed to push the pollen out of the nose again. As a result, affected people usually have a runny nose, which leads to frequent nose-blowing and thus irritation of the nasal mucosa. The combination of irritated mucous membrane and good blood circulation promotes the bursting of the smallest blood vessels, which leads to increased nosebleeds.

Body aches

Pain in the limbs usually occurs as one of the general symptoms of febrile infections.
The body fights pathogens such as bacteria or viruses with various messenger substances. However, the messenger substances not only serve to fight pathogens in the body, they also transmit signals that the brain interprets as pain. With hay fever, the body reacts to actually harmless constituents of pollen in the same way as it reacts to pathogens. Usually the immune defense only takes place in the upper respiratory tract. However, when it moves throughout the body, the very same messenger substances are released that cause pain in the limbs even with infections.

Earache

Earache is not one of the most common symptoms of hay fever, but it can be caused by hay fever in connection with a blocked nose.
An inflammatory reaction to the pollen usually takes place in the nose and upper respiratory tract. Since these are connected to the inside of the ear canal, the inflammation can also spread to the ear and thus lead to earache and reduced hearing.

Read more on the subject at: Earache therapy

Symptoms around the eyes

People afflicted by hay fever are sensitive to proteins found in pollen. Most of the time, this pollen gets into the nose through inhalation and triggers an inflammatory reaction there. However, the pollen can also get into the eyes and irritate the conjunctiva there.
In contrast to the nose, there is no protective layer of mucous membrane in the eye, which is why the conjunctiva is particularly prone to irritation. Anyone who has ever caught something in the eye knows the reaction to this foreign body: The eye itches and burns, it starts to tear, in order to "wash out" the foreign body again. This reaction also takes place with hay fever.
In addition, the body releases substances such as histamine. Histamine is a warning signal for the body and is intended to draw attention to dangerous substances that the body then fights. In addition, the histamine irritates the nerve endings and thus causes pain, itching and burning. The body's inflammatory response can make the eyes swell and red.

You may also be interested in this article: Conjunctivitis

nausea

Nausea is not a particularly typical symptom of hay fever.
As a rule, the symptoms relate to the respiratory tract up to the lungs and the eyes, as this is the largest target for the allergy-causing pollen. The pollen is usually inhaled and settles in the airways. Nausea usually only occurs when the entire body is on the alert because of the pollen. In this way, inflammatory substances are released systemically (throughout the body) that are supposed to fight the pollen and also lead to symptoms such as nausea.

diarrhea

Hay fever is an excessive reaction of the body to foreign substances. The symptoms usually relate to the respiratory tract, as this is where the pollen is absorbed and thus leads to a local allergic reaction.
In addition, however, the entire body can be put on alert, which means that complaints can also spread to other parts of the body. Many people who are affected by hay fever also suffer from other allergies or slight food intolerances. Due to the high alertness of the body, the reaction to other potential allergens, such as certain foods, increases during the hay fever season, so that symptoms such as diarrhea can occur.