Ragweed Allergy: Symptoms and Treatment

Ragweed pollen counts increase severely in the months of August, September and October. People, who are sensitive to these pollen grains, suffer from 'ragweed allergy', when they inhale these pollen grains. If the rainfall in spring is more than usual, then the situation may worsen, as the count of ragweed pollens, also increases more than normal.

Ragweeds grow throughout the United States and are very common in the Eastern and the Midwest states. One plant of ragweed can produce a million pollen grains. These pollen grains fill the air and can travel for miles with the wind. The seeds of the ragweed plant can stay in the soil for months, as they await the right season to grow out into a plant. Studies by various medical and research institutes have revealed that approximately 10 percent of the entire U.S. population are sensitive to ragweed.

Symptoms
Almost 75 percent of people, who are allergic to plant pollens, are allergic to ragweed pollens. The basic work of the immune system in the human body, is to fight viruses and bacteria, that might enter the human body in the form of allergens. So, it can be easily deduced that people allergic to ragweeds are not immune to the ragweed allergens. The initial symptoms of ragweed allergy, starts with a runny and stuffed nose. It is usually accompanied by fever and headaches. The fever caused by ragweed is known as hay fever. The person also suffers from sneezing and extreme irritation in his eyes, nose and throat. Many prone people also experience a chest tightness that causes severe coughing, wheezing and difficulty in breathing. For people with asthma, the allergy can result in asthma attacks. Extremely sensitive people also suffer from chronic sinusitis. People who are allergic to ragweed, are also prone to oral allergy syndromes(OAS), which cause the person suffering from ragweed allergy, to be allergic to certain types of food too.

Treatment
'Prevention is better than cure', is the motto when it comes to the treatment part of ragweed allergies. If you know that you are allergic to ragweed pollens, it is better that you start medical treatment before the season starts. Though you cannot escape from ragweed pollen grains, it will be beneficial if you move over to those parts of the country, where the count of ragweed pollen is low. The basic idea is to avoid coming in contact, with the ragweed pollen grains, as much as possible. If you are having any hay fever symptoms, then take some antihistamines (Allegra, Zyrtec, Clartin, etc.), but on a doctor's prescription only. Various inflammatory nose sprays and drops are available, that can help in treating the nose, eyes and throat irritations, caused by ragweed allergy, but these sprays have their own side effects. If the medication does not help you, then you can take 'allergy shots'. The process, known as immunotherapy, increases your body's resistance against the allergens. The pollen grains, which you are allergic to, need to be identified and you are given the appropriate allergy shots. If the process of identification and treatment goes well, then you will notice significant improvements in the symptoms. Immunotherapy is however, the last resort that a person suffering from ragweed allergy should take. Before doing so, it is very much necessary, that you consult a medical practitioner, who is completely aware of your medical history.

One very important aspect in the treatment of ragweed allergy, is its diagnosis. If you have all the symptoms of ragweed allergy, it is not necessary that you are suffering from the same. Generally the person's past medical history is reviewed by the medical practitioner and a skin test is carried out to complete the verification. Ragweed allergy, is one of the most serious allergies that a person can suffer from, but not much can be done to actually treat it. One can only take measures which can to reduce the severity of the symptoms.