Allergies Health Center

Fall Allergies and Sinusitis

Autumn has arrived, and you don’t feel so good. You can’t stop sneezing and sniffling. The return of cool weather leaves you feeling not invigorated but miserable.

What’s going on? You may be suffering from pollen allergy, a.k.a. allergic rhinitis or hay fever. Thirty million Americans do, and symptoms typically flare in fall.

Like all allergies, hay fever stems from a glitch in the immune system. Instead of attacking harmful foreign substances such as bacteria and viruses, it tries to neutralize “invaders” that ordinarily are quite harmless -- in this case weed pollen grains that fill the air from August through October (up to the first frost).

In someone with hay fever, inhaling these tiny particles triggers a cascade of biochemical reactions, resulting in the release of histamine, a protein that causes the all-too-familiar symptoms. In addition to sneezing, congestion, and fatigue, histamine can cause coughing; post-nasal drip; itchy eyes, nose, and throat; dark circles under the eyes; and asthma attacks.

Ragweed: The Prime Cause of Fall Allergies

Many plant varieties can cause hay fever, but the 17 varieties of ragweed that grow in North America pose the biggest threat. Three out of four people who are allergic to pollen are allergic to ragweed.

A hardy annual, ragweed thrives just about anywhere turf grasses and other perennials haven’t taken root -- along roads and riverbanks, in vacant lots, and so on. Over the course of a single year, one ragweed plant can produce a staggering one billion grains of pollen. And it doesn’t fall harmlessly to the ground. It floats on the breeze. Pollen has been found hundreds of miles out to sea and two miles up into the atmosphere.

Given the profusion of pollen, is there anything hay fever sufferers can do to limit their misery?

Conventional wisdom says that hay fever sufferers should stay indoors during morning hours, because pollen counts are highest then. Not so, says Neil Kao, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Greenville. “I’ve reviewed 50 years of medical literature on this, and there is simply no proof that hay fever sufferers can minimize their symptoms by staying indoors or going outdoors at certain times of day. This is a myth that even many general physicians believe.”

But experts say there are effective ways to curb symptoms of hay fever, including avoidance strategies and -- if that’s not enough -- medical therapy. Here are six proven strategies:

1. Make Your Home a Pollen-Free Haven

As much as possible during ragweed season, keep your windows shut and the air conditioner on (and do the same while in your car). “Running the air conditioner will also help remove moisture from the air, which helps prevent the growth of mold,” says James Stankiewicz, MD, chairman of the department of otolaryngology at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. “Mold can aggravate hay fever symptoms.”