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Seasonal Changes

There are certain times of the year when one starts experiencing sneezes, coughs, runny nose, nasal congestion, watery/itchy eyes, etc. These are called seasonal allergies. For all my life, I have dealt with allergies, especially during the winter and spring. However, along with my seasonal allergies came asthma attacks. When I was younger, I would go to my soccer practices and my asthma would be acting up and I remember specifically asking myself “why does my asthma act up if a few weeks ago I was able to do practice without my inhaler?”

 

Multiple factors can trigger allergies, especially during each season, such as what is being inhaled through our nose and mouth. But the seasonal changes also triggered my asthma. According to Bundgaard, “If the water content is low in the inhaled air, e.g. in cold air, the changes in ventilatory capacity following exercise will be greater than when the exercise is performed while inhaling hot air with high humidity" (Bundgaard, 2012). In other words, when breathing in cold, dry air, it may trigger airway narrowing rather than with hot, humid air. During the spring, there is a lot of pollen in the air which triggers many peoples’ allergies, which in my case also triggered my asthma when I was playing outside. The best way to treat asthma during the seasonal changes is by inhalation of Beta-2 agonists which are bronchodilators. And if you are a person that is physically active and gets triggered by the seasons changing, it is best to take the beta-2 agonists before the physical activity (Bundgaard, 2012).

 

There has been a huge increase in seasonal allergies and asthma due to climate change. According to the article “Pollen Overload: Seasonal Allergies in a Changing Climate,” the author wrote, “Seasonal allergies and asthma impose significant health burdens, with an estimated 10–30% of the global population afflicted by allergic rhinitis (or hay fever) and 300 million people worldwide affected by asthma” (Schmidt, 2016). Treatment is key since these illnesses can keep people out of school and work. According to Holgate and Polosa (2008), there are established treatments for certain illnesses such as inhaled corticosteroids and short and long-acting Beta-2 agonists (e.g. Albuterol) are the main treatment of asthma. For rhinitis, alpha-adrenoceptor agonists help relieve nasal congestion. There are also control therapies including antihistamines and topical corticosteroids that can help relieve seasonal allergies.




References

 

Bundgaard, A. (2012, December 11). Exercise and the asthmatic - sports medicine. SpringerLink. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00007256-198502040-00003#citeas


Holgate, S. T., & Polosa, R. (2008, February 15). Treatment strategies for allergy and asthma. Nature News. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.nature.com/articles/nri2262


Schmidt, C. W. (2016, April 1). Pollen overload: Seasonal allergies in a changing climate. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/full/10.1289/ehp.124-A70





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