Seems you are not alone since one of the most common respiratory conditions in Australia is allergic rhinitis, also known as hayfever. Allergic rhinitis can cause significant irritation and interfere with your daily activities, considerably reducing quality of life.

What is Allergic Rhinitis/Hayfever?

Allergies in general are a disorder of the immune system, where the body is in an state of oversensitivity. This usually develops after a repeated exposure to an allergen, for example plant such as pollen and rye grass, dust and dust mites, animal dander, fungi, mould, or chemicals. It is initially seasonal but can become long-lasting.

How Sensitisation to an Allergen Occurs

People can become over-sensitive to allergens due to repeated allergen exposure over a period of time. Some allergens trigger strong allergic reactions, while others trigger milder reactions.

• The first time an allergy prone person encounters an allergen their body will make large amounts of immunoglobulin E (IgE), which is a type of antibody that is present in minute amounts in the body but plays a major role in allergies.
• The IgE released bind to the allergen and to mast cells.
• The next time that person is exposed to the allergen the IgE primed mast cells will release histamine and trypsin, which are biochemicals that cause the symptoms commonly associated with allergic reactions such as sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes.

Factors Attributing to Allergic Rhinitis

There are many factors that influence whether or not you may experience allergy symptoms including:

• Genetics- atopy is the genetic tendency of an individual to have an over-response to allergens in the environment and an increased chance of developing hayfever, and/or eczema
• Stress
• Diet
• Lifestyle
• Environmental factors

See our article Hayfever and Allergies in Australia

Mr Vitamins recommends:

Allergy Relief – a Herbal Solution to Target the Cause

Nature’s Sunshine Allergy Relief contains a patented blend of 7 Ayurvedic herbs called Allerease™. This includes two ancient Ayurvedic herbal combinations called Triphala and Trikatu, and the herb Albizia.

• Triphala, which includes Emblic myrobalan, Myrobalan and Black myrobalan, has potent antioxidant activity, and benefits allergies, and inflammation.
• Trikatu, which means ‘three peppers’ or ‘three pungents’ and contains Long pepper, Black pepper and Ginger. It is a warming formula and a stimulant to the respiratory system, it is indicated for allergic rhinitis, sinusitis and runny nose.
• The final herb in Allergy Relief is Albizia. Albizia is one of the most commonly used herbs in modern herbal medicine for allergy related conditions. It is known to be anti-allergic, and anti-inflammatory.