We dive into seasonal allergy symptoms, the potential causes and explore some options around how to treat seasonal allergies. While one article can’t possibly cover everything you need to know about a single topic, we’ll discuss what’s important to know if you’re looking to relieve seasonal allergies.
What is an allergy and what are seasonal allergies?
An allergy occurs when your body responds to something external that’s usually safe, such as pollen, dust or animal fur. Symptoms can range from mild to extremely severe. Allergies that are triggered in a particular season are referred to as ‘seasonal allergies’.
Keeping a symptom diary to record when your allergy symptoms occurred, what you were doing at the time and where you were, is a practical way to identify your personal triggers. To help, we explain some of the common seasonal allergy triggers below.
What causes spring seasonal allergies?
With regards to seasonal allergies, different things can spark different allergies, depending on the season. For example, birch trees that produce pollen towards the end of March in the UK are thought to be the tree species most responsible for spring allergies, with an estimated quarter of the UK population living with allergy-related symptoms. Other tree types that produce pollen when spring comes round are Hazel, Alder, Popular Ash and Oak.
What causes autumn allergies?
When it comes to autumn, the fungus, Alternaria can grow naturally outdoors on plants and indoors, such as bathrooms, where condensation or other sources of damp supply enough water. Although the growing season kicks off in mid-June, peaking in July or August, airborne spores finish the season in September or October. Cladosporium is another mould found outdoors on rotten organic material and indoors in places impacted by water damage, even on food in fridges that has the same seasonal cycle.
What causes winter allergies?
Winter allergies can affect people as they spend more time indoors. Allergens include mould, dust mites that often live in house dust, particularly in bedding, carpets, upholstered furniture and pet dander (the dead flakes of skin furry pets shed).
What causes summer allergies?
The most well-known seasonal allergy, however, is hay fever, triggered when the body overreacts creates antibodies in response to certain substances like pollen, house dust mites or mould (allergens). These antibodies then travel to cells and release chemicals that cause an allergic reaction. Grass pollen is the main culprit (often striking between May and July, earning hay fever the nickname ‘grass allergy’), but tree and weed (typically occurring between February and June and June and September respectively) can also cause the allergic reaction commonly known as hay fever. This is why hay fever often springs to mind when we think of summer allergies, as it’s between March and September when hay fever is at its worse because the pollen count is at its highest, and the reason summer has a reputation for being hay fever season.
The pollen count is the amount of pollen per cubic metre (PCM) seen during the past 24 hours which, together with weather conditions provides the pollen forecast. Hay fever symptoms usually occur when the pollen count surpasses 50 PCM (sometimes expressed as PPM – Pollen Grains Per Cubic Metre). Meanwhile, 81-200 PCM is considered high when it comes to Birch pollen.
We mentioned above that hay fever is caused when the body overreacts to allergens and creates antibodies in response to certain substances. This is an immune reaction. Ongoing research is uncovering the interesting two-way relationship between our microbiome (the complex ecosystem of micro-organisms that live on our skin, in our gut and other moist areas, such as our lungs, nose and mouth) and immune system. Our microbiome trains and develops our natural and adaptive immune system. Meanwhile, our immune system helps maintain a healthy and balanced microbiome.
With regards to allergies, a diverse community of micro-organisms in the gut in our early years is considered to be important in establishing an immune system that helps prevent the antibody IgE (Immunoglobulin E) being introduced, which is linked to being more prone to allergies.
This inter-play between the gut and immune system can sometimes lead to conditions being disguised as allergies. For instance, histamine intolerance is where your body struggles to break down the chemical histamine in your gut, resulting in excess levels of it. You naturally produce histamine after an allergic reaction as part of an immune response and can also take the chemical in from foods. Histamine intolerance often shares similar symptoms to allergic responses, meaning it’s often underdiagnosed.
Seasonal allergy symptoms
Hay fever, sometimes referred to as ‘allergic rhinitis’, has symptoms akin to a cold. If you have some of the following symptoms that only flare up at particular times of the year, it could be an indication that you have a seasonal allergy.
Common seasonal allergy symptoms, which can each fall somewhere on a spectrum of ‘mild’ to ‘severe’, can include:
- Sneezing
- An itchy nose
- A runny or blocked nose
- Irritated, red, and watery eyes
- A cough The roof of your mouth being itchy
Other seasonal allergy symptoms can include:
- Mucus that runs down the back of your throat
- Swollen skin that seems bruised beneath your eyes
- Extreme tiredness often thanks to low sleep quality
Mayo Clinic offer the below comparison, which can help distinguish seasonal allergy symptoms from that of a cold:
| Condition | Symptom | When it starts | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hayfever | Runny nose with thin, watery discharge, no fever | Straight after exposure to allergens | As long as you’re exposed to allergens |
| Common cold | Runny nose with watery or thick yellow discharge, body aches and low-level fever | One to three days after exposure to a cold virus | Three to seven days |
A note about the diagnosing of seasonal allergies
Seasonal allergies like hay fever tend to be easier to diagnose than other allergies. When you visit your GP, they may also check your ears, nose, and throat to help them make a diagnosis. There’s often no need for allergy testing with seasonal allergies as your treatment for allergic rhinitis will likely be the same regardless of the type of allergen that triggers your symptoms.
How to relieve seasonal allergies
Treating seasonal allergies often first centres on avoidance, that is, taking steps to minimise exposure to seasonal allergens. For instance:
- Trying to stay indoors when pollen counts are high.
- Another way is to keep windows and doors closed at home and when travelling in the car during allergy season, especially when pollen levels are high. The pollen count tends to be higher in the mornings but it’s important to keep windows closed in the evenings too when the air cools.
- On high pollen days, showering, washing your hair and changing your clothes, especially your outer most layer of clothing when you get home.
- Wiping pets down with a damp cloth to get rid of pollens and don’t allow them into your bedroom.
- Considering wearing a mask, wraparound sunglasses and a hat with a large brim or peak to shield your eyes and face from pollens.
- Avoiding drying clothes outside on days where the pollen count is high.
- Quitting smoking or avoiding smoke, which can make symptoms worse.
People also turn to some of the following, available at most pharmacies, to manage allergy symptoms season:
- Nasal douching, which involves applying a saline solution or salt water nasal sprays to your nostrils to rinse any allergens that may have been trapped there after blowing your nose.
- Antihistamines
- Allergen barrier balms as a preventative measure, applied to the inside of your nose to help prevent pollen from entering your nostrils.
- Saline eye drops to help rinse out any allergens that may be aggravating your eyes.
- Decongestant nasal sprays or drops can unblock a stuffy nose by reducing the swelling of nasal blood vessels, helping to open airways. However, they’re not suitable for children under six years.
If symptoms are severe, a triple therapy approach is usually advised, by doctors for example, an oral antihistamine, nasal spray and eye drops. You don’t need a prescription for these from your doctor as all three are available over the counter from most pharmacies. If you’re unsure, you can ask your pharmacist about it.
If this, together with the lifestyle measures covered below, still doesn’t get your allergy symptoms under control, then contact your GP for a review because there are further treatments available on prescription.
Getting to the root cause
Importantly, for the treatment of seasonal allergies to be effective, the root cause of the allergy needs to be identified. For example, is pet dander a trigger for you or pollen? Once you’ve pinpointed that you’ll know if keeping pets from your bedroom is a sensible course of action.
But what about beyond the superficial seasonal allergy triggers?
It can help to work with your healthcare provider to dig deeper to unearth the root causes of symptoms, and then together work out lifestyle changes around those, rather than reactively treating symptoms. Dr Mark Hyman is just one example of a healthcare professional, who states an unhealthy or inflamed gut is unable to defend against potential allergens, as touched on above. He encourages everyone to maintain their gut health, through a gut-friendly diet (think high-fibre wholefoods rich in phytonutrients and healthy fats) probiotics, stress management and good quality sleep. Our article covers more on how to improve your gut health.
Food additives, pesticides, chemicals and environmental pollution have been put forward as other potential root causes of allergies (and not just the seasonal kind) as they can disrupt your gut microbiome.
Call 999 if you experience a skin rash, wheezing, tightness in your chest or throat and have problems breathing or talking or a swollen mouth, face, lips, tongue, or throat.
The Evergreen Life app allows you to keep a record of your allergies and symptoms, recording the severity of each one. You can also enter any allergy medications you take and set reminders if they’re taken regularly. What’s more, you can scan your allergy cards and various health documents and share this important information with your loved ones and trusted healthcare providers – pretty handy!
Reviewed by:
Anna Keeble MA BA Wellbeing Expert
Dr Claire Marie Thomas MRCGP DFSRH DTMH DipNLP MBChB BMedSci Medical Expert
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