how does hayfever enter your body and what does it do inside of us??

Question: how does hayfever enter your body and what does it do inside of us??

Asked by wally95 to MarkF, Mark, Michael, Panos, Sarah on 22 Jun 2010 in Categories: General.
- Panos Soultanas answered on 16 Jun 2010:
  
  Hi Wqally95,
  
  It is not hayfever that enters your body. It is to do with small particles and molecules that enter the body which then trigger an immune response of your body defence system. Some people develop senstitivity to certain molecules while others do not. It is to do with the genetic make up of each individual and with the environment one lives in.
- Mark Fogg answered on 16 Jun 2010:
  
  Hay Fever is caused by pollen, you breathe it in. The immune system thinks pollen is harmful and over reacts by releasing too much of a substance, an antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE). The IgE damages some cells, which release a chemical call histamine. It is the histamine that causes the sneezing, blocked nose and possibly breathing problems of Hay Fever.
- Sarah Burl answered on 16 Jun 2010:
  
  Pollen (the thing in trees and flowers that causes hayfever) enters the body mostly through the nose and mouth. In those that are sensitised to it the immune cells immediately recognise it and have so many antibodies against it they just overreact immediately. There are many molecules that control this reaction and in some people these work well but in others they don’t work as well although there is nothing you cando about it. Often an allergy can get worse over time eg bee stings and peanut allergies although some allergies you can have as a child and you seem to grow out of eg hayfever. There is still a lot we don’t know about allergies, it is an interesting one!
- Mark Travis answered on 16 Jun 2010:
  
  Hayfever is an allergic reaction to pollen, so doesn’t eneter the body as such. When pollen is breathed in, in individuals with hayfever this triggers an allergic reaction (the immune system starts to go a bit mad), which relesase chemicals that cause the classic symptoms of hayfever (itchy and watery eyes, wheezing, coughing, sneezing).
- Michael Loughlin answered on 22 Jun 2010:
  
  well hayfever is the immune repose to pollen..So its gets in through breathing and then effects cells in the nose lungs and so on. Its a hypersensitivity response where the body reacts aggressively againts an intruder that actually causes us no harm if left alone.
  http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hay-fever/Pages/Introduction.aspx
  that webpage looks at symptoms and so on

Comments

wally95 commented on 17 Jun 2010:

thanks all (:

Log in to Reply

Question: how does hayfever enter your body and what does it do inside of us??