Pollen: Allergen

Allergen: Pollen

BY

Aysha Siddiqui

Walden University

Introduction

Definition of Allergen: An allergen is something that triggers an allergic reaction (National Institute of Health, NIH). According to the NIH, an allergy is your body’s immune system reaction to an allergen that does not bother most people. Individual who have allergies, are usually allergic to more than one allergen. Usually the immune system fights back and this is the body’s defense system (NIH). The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) describes the allergic reaction as a chain reaction that begins in the genetic formation and expressed in the immune system. The immune system controls how the body’s defense works and the immune systems reacts by producing antibodies called Immunoglobulin E (AAAAI). The antibodies travel to cells, leading to release of chemicals that cause an allergic reaction in lungs, throat, sinuses, ears, stomach or on the skin.

            Allergen, Pollen: Each type of IgE has specific recognition for different types of allergen. This is the explanation why some people are only allergic to certain specific allergens. ‘Pollen’ is one of the most common things that can cause allergy (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID) and many people refer to it as ‘hay fever’ and health experts call is ‘seasonal pollen allergies’. Gilmour et al.(2006) describes that allergens like pollen maybe in abundance causing severe allergies more now due to the climate changes. Some research has shown a connection between pollen allergies and food sensitivity, with stronger the allergies to pollen the more is the sensitivity to food.

            Body’s histamine response

Miadonna et al. (1987) studied release of kinetics of histamine and leukotrienes C_{4 in 10 patients with hay fever. Results showed high level of active histamine in nasal washes of people suffering from allergen challenge with pollen compared to normal subjects. The study also concluded that the LTC4 generation was directly related to allergic symptoms. The most important allergic reaction is} reconciled by the immunoglobulin E (Ige) antibodies and mast cells that contain histamine play a crucial role also (Pope, Patterson, Burge, 1993). When the individual gets the first exposure to the allergen like pollen, the person gets ‘sensitized’. In biological language ‘sensitization’ occurs when the IgE antibody specific to that allergen attaches itself to the mast cells (Pope, Patterson, Burge, 1993). Future exposure to the pollen causes the mast cells to give a reaction by releasing histamine and other inflammatory responses.

 Behavioral intervention to reduce the allergic response

The NIH reports that most of the pollen that causes an allergic reaction comes from plants and this includes outdoors as well as indoor plants. Suggest that indoor plants can trigger an allergic reaction from pollen and to avoid exposure to indoor plants could an effective intervention (Pope, Patterson, Burge, 1993). An interesting fact is that most people believe that being outdoors is the problem of pollen allergy, but there can be many triggers present in an indoors environment as well. Thereby, it is crucial for a behavioral intervention that the patients are given adequate and enough education on the prevention of allergen exposure. This includes allergen sites, repeated exposure and immunologic reaction.

References

Allergic Reactions: Tips to Remember, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI). Retrieved from Doi: http://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/library/at-a-glance/allergic-reactions.aspx

Allergy, National Institute of Health (NIH), Retrieved from Doi: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/allergy.html

Gilmour, M. I., Jaakkola, M. S., London, S. J., Nel, A. E., & Rogers, C. A. (2006). How exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, outdoor air pollutants, and increased pollen burdens influences the incidence of asthma.Environmental health perspectives, 627-633.

Miadonna, A., Tedeschi, A., Leggieri, E., Lorini, M., Folco, G., Sala, A. & Zanussi, C. (1987). Behavior and clinical relevance of histamine and leukotrienes C4 and B4 in grass pollen-induced rhinitis. American Review of Respiratory Disease, 136(2), 357-362.

Pope, A. M., Patterson, R., & Burge, H. (Eds.). (1993). Indoor allergens: assessing and controlling adverse health effects. National Academies.