It's the dreaded allergy that brings grief to an estimated one in five Australians - and there's no real cure. So what really is it? And is it getting worse or becoming more common? 9News
We chatted to specialist Professor Jo Douglass, who is Director of Research at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, about all things hay fever.Hay fever is caused by an allergy to pollens. The medical name is allergic rhino-conjunctivitis."It's allergic inflammation of the nose, which can lead to sneezing and an itchy and dripping nose. It's also conjunctivitis, so it affects the eyes.
This could partly be because Australia's pollen levels have changed a fair bit throughout the past 20 years. hay fever season will be likely to begin up to 40 days earlier and finish up to 15 days later by the end of the century.Allergies more typically present early in life, but they can come on at any time.
"It also is dependent on what people are exposed to. So if you grow up in a dry arid inland environment, you may not see so much grass pollen, or your immune system doesn't see so much grass pollen. Then if you move to the city, your immune system is susceptible, and you may acquire it."Professor Jo Douglass says it would have been a bumper hay fever year, due to the large amount of rainfall, if the rain had stopped for a period.
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