Pollen Complications and Allergies

Pollen allergy (Allergic Rhinits) is one of the most common allergies. The immune system reacts to the fine powder released from trees and other plants in spring, summer, and autumn. The wind spreads these pollens and they can easily enter the nose and throat, and in turn causing the irritating reaction in an allergic person.

Symptoms of pollen-related allergies include sneezing, itchy and watering eyes, runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, sinus pressure, decreased taste/smell, and more. There are different ways of treating pollen allergy by medications or by immunotherapy. Allergen immunotherapy is used to treat allergic symptoms such as rhinitis and itchy eyes in patients with cedar pollen allergies. Administration of small amounts of pollen over several years may suppress severe allergic symptoms when these patients are later exposed to large amounts of pollen in the environment. For treatment of chronic allergies, scores are defined for therapeutic success and are used to identify a range of parameters in which allergen immunotherapy is likely to be successful. Japanese scientists developed a simple mathematical model to identify conditions in which allergen immunotherapy is effective. There have been tests made of linear dose treatments vs. constant dose treatments. Therapy with linear doses reduced the risk of allergies and led to stronger accumulation of resistance to pollen exposure (in contrast to the constant dose therapy). Your doctor will carefully measure the doses of the prescribed medication during your therapy in order to give you the most effective results.

Source: Journal of theoretical Biology, 2017. Authors: Akane Hara, Yoh Iwasa, Kyushu University