Hay Fever Risks Increases in Eczema Patients

By Evelyn L. - 2007-08-18 Find more articles like this in our Skin Disorders category.

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Atopic dermatitis or atopic eczema can be caused by more than one allergen.

Allergens may be food, pollen, dust mites, perfume or drugs. As such, eczema is a condition that has close ties with another allergy oriented problem, hay fever. Approximately forty five million American citizens suffer from one allergy or another.

Hay fever is also known as allergic rhinitis. The name hay fever came about because many people who worked with hay in farms years ago often develop respiratory symptoms such as sneezing as well as sinus and nasal congestion afterwards. The three most popular symptoms of an allergic reaction are asthma, eczema and hay fever.

Hence, those with eczema may also get hay fever as well. Their risks to developing allergic rhinitis rise lie in the fact of how their bodies treat allergens that get into the body. Allergens are considered as foreign invaders, triggering a chain of events that ultimately results in an inflammatory response. Antibodies are sent to protect the body from this intruder and a fight ensues between antibodies and allergens. Your body then brings on the release of histamine, which floods your bloodstream. Histamine sets off the allergic symptoms that you observe in your body as it tries to ward off its attackers.

If you get hay fever, you can experience several symptoms which include itchy, watery eyes, nasal congestion, nasal congestion and headaches. Other symptoms can also include sore throats, problems with their hearing, coughing problems and hoarseness. Symptoms that are less common are problems with balance, irritation of the skin surface, inflammation that erupts in the face or tissues of the throat and sometimes respiratory problems such as asthma.

Hay fever is triggered by pollens in the air. In the United States the most common pollen to start hay fevers is the ragweed. Pollination season of ragweed starts in late summer, sometime in late August and ends when winter appears. The pollens that come from the grass in the latter half of the spring season include orchard, red top, timothy, Bermuda, Johnson, a variety of bluegrasses and sweet vernal. The pollen that shows up in the early start of spring comes from a multitude of trees. These tree pollens include alder, ash, beech, birch, cottonwood, cypress, elm, hickory, maple, oak, pecan, poplar, sycamore and walnut.

Mold is another common allergen that can cause serious threats to hay fever and eczema sufferers. Mold spores are believed to be the cause of just as many allergic reactions as are pollens. These allergens tend to affect sufferers more adversely in the colder months due to indoor heating and the fact that fresh air is not as plentiful.

Understanding about how your body reacts to the different allergens is important whether you suffer from eczema or hay fever or both. With no clear understanding, it will not be easy to look for the best treatment option for yourself.