The condition is a reaction to airborne irritants like pollen that appear only in certain months. It can be called hay fever, a throwback to a kinder, gentler agrarian age or may be mistaken for a cold. The formal names for its symptoms are allergic rhinitis, which describes the irritation to the inner membrane of the nose, or conjunctiva, which refers to watery, bloodshot eyes caused by the irritants.
Seasonal allergies generally occur in the spring, summer or fall, when pollens, grasses and other airborne irritants are on the move. In spring, most reactions are caused by the blossoming tree buds, which send showers of spores into the air. In summer, grasses and weeds take over, filling the air with the fallout. And in fall, ragweed makes an appearance.
The seasonal afflictions differ according to geography. For example, in the western United States, mountain cedar is the main culprit for seasonal allergies during the December to March months. In the southwest, blame Russian thistle and sagebrush for your irritations.
Nasal allergies affect roughly 50 million people in the United States, according to the American College of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology. It is becoming more prevalent, the organization claims, with about 30 percent of adults and 40 percent of children affected, or roughly just fewer than 17 million adults and more than 6 million children. That results in more than 13 million annual doctor visits, outpatient treatments and emergency room visits.