Hay fever (or to give it its official name, allergic rhinitis), is something that will affect three out of four of us at least once in our lives. When spring rolls around, the regularly-afflicted of us dread the spread of pollen floating around in the air because we know it’s going to make us, for lack of a better word, utterly miserable.
Sometimes the reason we’re susceptible to hay fever is hereditary, and sometimes there seems to be no reason whatsoever, but it affects us all in the same way. When pollen and dust gets into our nasal airways, it stimulates them and causes the release of inflammatory mediators which in turn makes us sneeze and gives us watery eyes that we can’t get rid of no matter how hard we try. Or can we?
While those symptoms are unlikely to develop into anything more sinister, it’d be nice to get rid of them when they do crop up, and there are a few hay fever treatment methods that medical professionals agree help to soothe its symptoms and eventually make it disappear altogether with sustained use of steroids. This usually comes in the form of a nasal spray and should be used for several weeks consistently in order to build up a therapeutic effect.
However, the word “steroid” often comes to mind with negative connotations and, if the patient would rather pursue other types of treatment, they can opt for antihistamines which are available from most chemists’ as an over-the-counter remedy and which deal effectively and safely with the symptoms of the majority of allergies. If that’s still not an option, then alternative remedies are also available.
Sometimes the reason we’re susceptible to hay fever is hereditary, and sometimes there seems to be no reason whatsoever, but it affects us all in the same way. When pollen and dust gets into our nasal airways, it stimulates them and causes the release of inflammatory mediators which in turn makes us sneeze and gives us watery eyes that we can’t get rid of no matter how hard we try. Or can we?
While those symptoms are unlikely to develop into anything more sinister, it’d be nice to get rid of them when they do crop up, and there are a few hay fever treatment methods that medical professionals agree help to soothe its symptoms and eventually make it disappear altogether with sustained use of steroids. This usually comes in the form of a nasal spray and should be used for several weeks consistently in order to build up a therapeutic effect.
However, the word “steroid” often comes to mind with negative connotations and, if the patient would rather pursue other types of treatment, they can opt for antihistamines which are available from most chemists’ as an over-the-counter remedy and which deal effectively and safely with the symptoms of the majority of allergies. If that’s still not an option, then alternative remedies are also available.
