Spring Allergies: What Happens in the Body During Pollen Season

It starts with a tickle in the nose, then the eyes begin to water, and by the third sneeze at the latest it is clear: the pollen is back. For millions of people, spring is less a fresh start than a state of emergency. What happens in the body can be summed up in a single sentence.

With a pollen allergy, the immune system overreacts to actually harmless flower pollen: it releases messenger substances such as histamine, and these cause sneezing, a runny nose and itchy, watering eyes. Diagnosis and treatment belong in medical hands – in everyday life you can additionally reduce pollen contact in a targeted way.

Important note first: Hay fever and allergies are a medical topic. This article provides general information; it is not a treatment and does not replace medical advice.

What happens in the body during pollen season

Picture the immune system as an extremely attentive bouncer. With a pollen allergy, he has simply misread the guest list: he classifies harmless flower pollen as dangerous intruders. As soon as this pollen reaches the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes, the bouncer sounds the alarm – and the body responds by releasing histamine from certain immune cells.

Histamine is the messenger substance that triggers the actual symptoms: the blood vessels in the mucous membranes widen, tissue swells, there is tingling and itching, the nose runs, the eyes water. This is not a weakness of the body but, on the contrary, an overzealous defence – the reaction is correct in itself, just aimed at completely the wrong target. This description classifies the process factually and does not assess any individual products.

Allergy or cold? The subtle difference

In spring in particular, many people confuse the first signs of a pollen allergy with a cold – after all, both involve sneezing and sniffling. A few characteristics can help you roughly categorise the situation (this does not replace a diagnosis):

• Duration: A cold usually subsides after about a week. Hay fever drags on throughout the entire pollen season, often for weeks to months.
• Secretion: With hay fever the nasal discharge is typically clear and thin, whereas with colds it often becomes thicker.
• Itching: Itchy eyes and nose are a strong signal of an allergic reaction and are less common with colds.
• Pattern: If the symptoms occur every year at the same time or in certain weather, that points to a pollen allergy.

Anyone who recognises such patterns in themselves has good reason to take the next step.

The most important step: get it checked medically

If you experience the same symptoms every spring, the most sensible first step is to have it clarified medically – at your GP practice, at an ENT specialist or at an allergology practice. Only there can it be determined whether and to what you are allergic and which measures are right for you. An allergy test provides clarity that no everyday tips – and certainly no food supplement – can deliver.

Everyday tips for the pollen season

Regardless of medical treatment, you can spare your immune system a great deal of pollen. The basic idea is simple: the less pollen reaches your mucous membranes, the less reason the overzealous bouncer has to react.

• Use the pollen forecast and schedule exercise, gardening and long walks for times with less pollen.
• Ventilate correctly: in the city rather in the morning, in the countryside rather in the evening – that is when the exposure is usually lower.
• In the evening, wash your hair and do not leave your outdoor clothing in the bedroom, so you do not take the pollen to bed with you.
• Do not dry your laundry outdoors during peak season.
• Use a pollen filter in the car and change it regularly.
• After spending time outdoors, rinse your face and hands to remove clinging pollen before it reaches your eyes and nose.

None of these points is a medical measure – but taken together they can noticeably reduce the amount of pollen your body comes into contact with in the first place. And less contact means less reason for the overzealous bouncer to sound the alarm.

Nutrients for normal immune function

Quite apart from the topic of allergies, the following applies: a good supply of certain nutrients contributes to a normal function of the immune system. This is not a footnote but EU-wide approved knowledge – however, it concerns general immune function, not allergies or hay fever.

These statements describe what the body fundamentally needs the nutrients for – they say nothing about pollen or hay fever. More on this in the guide Immune System: Vitamin C, D & Zinc and in the overview Nutrients for the Immune System.

Spring in particular falls in a period when, after the low-light winter months, many people are thinking about their vitamin D supply anyway, because the body’s own production through the skin is lower in winter. This is a separate chapter, distinct from the allergy topic – anyone who wants to go deeper will find a factual overview in Dark Season, Light & Vitamin D and Vitamin D: Dosage, Blood Level, Winter. Here too the following applies: this concerns the general supply, not the treatment of hay fever.

Why a low-irritant everyday life helps

Besides pollen, other irritants can additionally strain the mucous membranes – for instance cigarette smoke, very dry heated air or heavily perfumed room sprays. Anyone who already has sensitive mucous membranes during pollen season will find things easier with a low-irritant environment: well-humidified indoor air, avoiding smoke and regular wiping instead of stirring up dust. This does not treat an allergy, but it can reduce the overall strain on the mucous membranes in everyday life and is easy to implement independently of medical therapy.

Why spring affects so many people

The pollen season follows a calendar that stretches across the months: early in the year the pollen of trees such as hazel, alder and birch flies, in later spring and summer grasses and cereals are added, and in late summer finally herbs such as mugwort and ragweed. Anyone who reacts to several of these groups accordingly deals with symptoms over many months – which explains why some people feel affected for “half the year”.

On top of that: warm, dry and windy days drive up the pollen concentration in the air, while rain briefly washes it out. A look at the weather and the pollen forecast therefore helps to gauge good and bad days in advance and to plan outdoor activities accordingly. This is not a medical measure but simply smart everyday planning.

What research is investigating – and the case of quercetin

Around springtime the plant compound quercetin keeps coming up in conversation, a flavonoid found in onions, apples and capers. Basic research is interested in flavonoids and their role in laboratory systems – that is a legitimate field of research. In practical terms, however, this means: for quercetin there are no approved health claims in the EU, which is why we describe it in purely neutral terms and expressly do not derive from it any effect on allergies. You can read about what quercetin actually is in the guide Quercetin: the flavonoid from the pagoda tree.

Nutrition and the immune system in spring

Regardless of the allergy topic, spring is a good occasion to take a look at your own diet. After the winter months with little fresh vegetables and little sunlight, the body craves variety. Fresh seasonal vegetables, colourful fruit and sufficient fluids are the basis of a good nutrient supply – and that contributes, as described, via vitamin C, vitamin D and zinc to normal immune function.

The following always applies: a varied diet is the foundation, and food supplements can add to it in a targeted way when individual nutrients are in short supply. For certain life situations – for instance with little sunlight or a one-sided diet – the guides Nutrients with Little Sunlight and Nutrients When You Eat Few Vegetables provide factual orientation. They are no substitute for an allergy medication – but they help to put the general supply on a solid footing.

Honestly assessed

The mechanism is established: an excessive immune reaction, histamine release, typical symptoms. It is also clear that less pollen contact helps in practice and that the diagnosis belongs in medical hands. Open – or rather not permissible as a claim – is anything that would present a preparation as a “remedy for hay fever”. At most, food supplements can contribute to normal immune function – they are not an allergy medication, and anyone who promises you otherwise is crossing a line.

Matching products from Scheunengut

For general immune function, at Scheunengut you will find the categories Immune System, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Zinc. If you are interested in the plant compound quercetin, you will find what you are looking for in the Quercetin category. It is worth reading on in the guides Building Up the Immune System in Autumn, Strengthening the Immune System in Winter, Immune System: Vitamin C, D & Zinc, Quercetin: Intake & Bioavailability and Spring Fatigue & Nutrients.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What happens in the body during a pollen allergy?

The immune system mistakenly classifies actually harmless flower pollen as a threat and releases messenger substances such as histamine. Histamine triggers the typical symptoms: sneezing, a runny nose, itchy and watering eyes. It is therefore an excessive reaction of the defence system to a harmless stimulus.

Can food supplements treat hay fever?

No. Hay fever is a medical topic and belongs in medical hands. Food supplements are not an allergy medication. Individual nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin D and zinc merely contribute to a normal function of the immune system – which is expressly not a statement about allergies.

When should I ventilate during pollen season?

As a rule of thumb: in the city the pollen concentration is usually lower in the morning, in the countryside rather in the evening. Additionally use the pollen forecast to schedule burst ventilation and outdoor activities for the times with less pollen.

And what about quercetin against hay fever?

Quercetin is a plant compound that is often mentioned around springtime. In the EU, however, no health claims are approved for quercetin, which is why we describe it in purely neutral terms and make no statement about allergies. What quercetin actually is is explained by our guide on it.