About Allergic Rhinitis (Hayfever) | Hay Fever Information

Jennifer B. locked the front door, climbed into her Chevy, and drove to the church where she was meeting friends to work on a rummage sale.

Shortly after she began sorting through boxes of old cloth¬ing, her nose started to run—and run—and kept on running, until finally she had to leave.

That evening, she told her husband, "I had a hay fever at¬tack in the vestry today. I think I'm allergic to church."
Approximately fifty million Americans—one in five per¬sons—have some form of allergic rhinitis, better known as hay fever. Technically, rhinitis means inflammation of the nasal mu¬cous membrane, or, in simpler terms, a runny nose.

The most common cause is inhaling airborne substances de¬rived from natural sources: house dust, pollens, mold spores, and animal and insect emanations. In addition to causing drippy noses, airborne allergens may bring on itchy eyes, sore throats, ear infections, headaches, stomach cramps, skin rashes, hives, fatigue, irritability, urinary frequency, diarrhea, and asthma. Symptoms can appear at all stages of life, but 70 per¬cent of patients develop hay fever before they reach age thirty.