Allergies are traditionally associated with spring and summer, when high pollen counts fill the air and leave hay fever sufferers sneezing and scratching at sore eyes. But winter brings its own allergens, with dust mites and mold spores spelling misery for a whole new batch of sufferers.
Allergic reactions occur when the immune system responds to the presence of a foreign substance. When it suspects an invasion, the immune system produces proteins called antibodies.
However, it can go into overdrive and perceive substances as harmful when they are not, producing an immune response, such as a runny nose, in an attempt to flush out the invader.
But the figures are not to be sneezed at. A 2005 report by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) states that allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic disease in the US, with health care costs in excess of $18 billion a year.
The organization also notes that allergic diseases affect about 50 million people a year and that about half of all Americans test positive for at least one of the 10 most common allergens, listing those as:
- Ragweed
- Bermuda grass
- Rye grass
- White oak
- Russian thistle
- Alternaria alternata mold
- Pet dander
- House dust mites
- German cockroach
- Peanuts.
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