Spring Grasses by ChrIstine
Feeling dazed by your allergies in the summer haze? Stop blaming the pollen count – it could be the air you’re breathing.
Summertime is just the time to have some sun-loving fun. But playing outside poses one never-ending annoyance – allergies. More than just irritating, allergens have turned many a pleasant afternoons into one unbearably long, bleary-eyed fits of sneezing.
Many assume that their itchy eyes and scratchy throats stem from a particular vulnerability to allergens, but it turns out that they’re only half-right -- our susceptibility to allergens and the degree of our discomfort has a lot to do with the quality of our air.
Case of the Vapors
According to MedicineNet, allergies are greatly exacerbated (and even created) by our modern living environments. They cite the example of Japan, where hay fever was relatively rare until the industrialization of cities and roadways, suggesting the modern city’s role in our sneezy suffering. To this day, Japanese residents who live in cities or near busy byways are disproportionately affected.Perhaps the most significant contributor to this problem is, as always, tobacco smoke. As detailed by MedicineNet, tobacco has a long and storied relationship with allergies and respiratory diseases, like asthma (not to mention lung cancer). Part of the cause is that exposure to tobacco smoke actually increases the body’s production of Immunoglobulin E (IgE), an allergy antibody that, in effect, causes allergic symptoms. When IgE attaches itself to allergens, like dust mites or pollen, you get that crummy feeling so many of us know so well.
Because secondhand smoke compromises your body’s respiratory system – especially among children with parental smokers – the effects of allergies are magnified. If you’ve ever been to a city and seen its smokers, you’ve probably seen this phenomenon for yourself.
Another significant contributor to allergies is, unsurprisingly, diesel exhaust. Like tobacco smoke, diesel exhaust increases the body’s output of IgE. And while diesel exhaust is not a specific irritant in the way tobacco smoke is, it increases the body’s susceptibility to allergens.
Granted, exhaust is a likely, but as of yet unconfirmed source of allergies, still, the trove of research indicating its truth has steadily and convincingly increased throughout past years.
If you’re looking for something else to blame, the weather is a good place to start. The more that fresh air is able to circulate through an area, the less respiratory problems a populace will have. As this report from WIAT (a local news source) states, Alabama residents in Jefferson County have suffered increased allergies due to stagnant air. A high-pressure weather system has kept air hovering in a “bowl” over the area, dirtying the atmosphere and forbidding fresh air to take its place.
The longer this occurs, the longer the dirty air is allowed to remain and compound on itself. Eventually, this can lead to a situation like that of famously polluted and mountain-encircled Mexico City, according to Canada’s IRDC. Another, more local example of this kind of geography is Los Angeles, which is known for its smog.
Many people have allergies, and unfortunately, there’s really no getting around that – however, the increased suffering incurred by poor air quality is needless. Looking to a company like Rabbit Air for a professional-quality air purifier is an effective way to solve this problem. You may not be able to control the weather, but you can ensure that the air quality in your home or office is pristine. As a bonus, air purifiers have the ability to filter out those pesky allergens.
That way, if you’re out and about and feel the itch approaching, you can take a needed moment of respite in your clean, allergy-free environment.