What is Hay Fever?

The disease, also known as hay fever, is caused by patients' allergies to plant pollen, mainly affecting the eyes and upper respiratory tract. Most of the disease is caused by wind pollen as an allergen. The main pathogenic pollens in China are pollen of Castanopsis, sunflower, cannabis, sycamore, castor, castanopsis, gourd, poplar, elm, etc. There are also a small number of patients who are caused by fungi, dust mites, or other seasonal inhalants or food.

Basic Information

nickname

Hay fever

English name

pollinosis

English alias

seasonalallergicrhinitis

Visiting department

Allergy, Otorhinolaryngology

Common locations

Eye, upper respiratory tract

Common causes

Pollen as an allergen

Common symptoms

Itchy eyes, tears, red and swollen eyelids, itchy nose, sneezing, increased watery secretions, itchy throat, dry throat, dry cough

Causes of hay fever

Most of the disease is caused by pollen as a allergen by the wind as a transmission medium. The main pathogenic pollens in China are pollen of Castanopsis, sunflower, cannabis, sycamore, castor, castanopsis, gourd, poplar, elm and so on. There are also a small number of patients who are caused by fungi, dust mites, or other seasonal inhalants or food.

Clinical manifestations of hay fever

It has obvious seasonality and regional characteristics, mainly manifested as itchy eyes, tears, and eyelid redness; itchy nasal cavity, continuous sneezing, often up to a dozen at a time, watery secretions increased after sneezing, all day long after onset Not only; itching, dry throat, dry cough, etc. Some patients can hear wheezing on auscultation.

Hay fever treatment

The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed the "Four-in-One" comprehensive treatment principle for allergic diseases, namely patient education, avoiding allergen exposure, appropriate symptomatic treatment and immunotherapy.

Patient education

Explain to patients the important knowledge related to allergies so that they can understand the cause of the disease and how to prevent it. Instruct patients to reduce outdoor activities during the pollen season, and do not play in the densely populated areas of the suburbs or grasslands; wear protective masks and glasses when going out; apply preventive drugs as prescribed by your doctor a few weeks before the pollen period.

2. Avoid contact with allergens

Allergens are the root cause of allergies, so finding, finding, and removing them is the key to treating allergies. If it cannot be removed, it should be as far away as possible from allergens, such as avoiding re-ingestion of allergenic foods, protecting the respiratory tract during the season of pollen transmission or staying away from relevant areas, improving living environment, changing lives and working places, etc.

3. Symptomatic treatment

(1) Oral or nasal second-generation or new-type H1 antihistamines can effectively relieve mild nasal itching, sneezing, and runny nose. If the symptoms are more severe, it can be combined with nasal glucocorticoids.

(2) Anti-leukotriene drugs are effective for allergic asthma.

(3) Chromone drugs have a certain effect on alleviating rhinitis, and eye drops are effective in alleviating eye symptoms.

(4) Intranasal decongestants can relieve the symptoms of nasal congestion caused by nasal congestion, and the course of treatment should be controlled within 7 days.

(5) Intranasal anticholinergic drugs can effectively inhibit runny nose.

4. Immunotherapy

Allergen-specific immunotherapy is commonly used subcutaneously and sublingually. The course of treatment is divided into a dose accumulation phase and a dose maintenance phase. It is mainly used in adults and children (> 5 years) who have failed conventional drug therapy.