Do seasonal allergies make you cough?

Spring is in the air, and so are those pesky pollen particles. If you’re like many people who suffer from seasonal allergies, the changing of seasons can lead to a host of unpleasant symptoms including sneezing, itchy eyes, and nasal congestion. But what about coughing? Can seasonal allergies make you cough?

The Short Answer

Yes! Seasonal allergies can make you cough. In fact, coughing is a common symptom of allergic rhinitis (aka hay fever). When your body comes into contact with an allergen like pollen or mold spores, it triggers an immune response that leads to inflammation in your sinuses and airways. This inflammation can cause irritation and trigger coughing.

What Causes the Cough?

When allergens enter your respiratory system (aka nose/throat/lungs), they can trigger different responses depending on where they land. For example:

  • Nose: Sneezing/itchy/runny nose
  • Eyes: Itching/wateriness/redness
  • Throat: Scratchiness/soreness/tickling
  • Lungs: Wheezing/trouble breathing/tightness

If allergens get deep enough into your lungs, they can irritate the sensitive tissues there which leads to inflammation (aka bronchitis) or even asthma attacks.

Types of Allergic Coughs

Not all allergic coughs are created equal (thank goodness, we don’t need any more problems)! Depending on what’s causing them/how severe they are here how it works:

Post-nasal drip

What happens when mucus drips down from your nose towards backill area at night? Your throat gets irritated thus leading to one very phlegmy morning(gross).

This type of allergy-induced-cough commonly acts as Nocturnal symptoms since drainage usually increases while lying down.

Bronchial asthma

Asthma is more than just a cough, its a condition where the airways in lungs narrow and tighten making it hard to breathe.

Allergens like pollen and mold are common triggers of asthmatic symptoms. When they travel deep into your bronchial tubes, They can irritate your sensitive tissues leading to an asthma attack which involves that person experiencing not only coughing but wheezing.

Exercise-induced Cough

some individuals with allergies find themselves having an “Exercise-triggered” cough.

For instance, you might participate in activities such as jogging: Inhaling large volumes of cold dry air traveling fast down passageways causes quick expansion during exhalation while crossing hindrance points resulting in upcoming sounds aka coughs .

The Danger Zone

Living with an allergy induced-cough isn’t pleasant (duh). It gets worse when what was once annoying progress to life-threatening complications (yup):

Pneumonia

As upper respiratory infections like pneumonia come from bacteria or virus leaking into lungs via mucus over-production this means serious allergic response could lead directly to bad news for susceptible patients due to increased bacterial colonization chance inside their already weakened system(s).

Chronic Lung Disease

Long term exposure toward dust/pollution/exhaust fumes coupled with allergen material increases the risk for chronic lung diseases like emphysema/COPD(Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease)/chronic bronchitis.

Coping Strategies

Of course we don’t want any situation where you have self-medicated yourself wrongly causing adverse reactions that make everything worse (boy do we hate magic trick-ing yourself upside down!) Here’s some tips:

  • Humidifiers

Humidity helps relieve inflamed sinuses-therefore adding moisture seriously helps deal with snot.

  • OTC antihistamines

Most commonly used meds for allergies. They work by blocking your body’s immune system response to allergens (which is what causes all those annoying symptoms). Be sure to speak with a doctor beforehand since each individual has different health needs

  • Nasal saline rinse

Using distilled water/salt mixture helps irrigate nasal passages clearing out potentially irritating pet dander or pollen particles from sinuses which makes falling asleep easier at night (Good riddance)

The Takeaway

So there you have it, folks! Coughing is indeed one possible symptom of seasonal allergies (and several types of chronic lung disease) due to the inflammation that occurs in your respiratory system when exposed to an allergen.

There are various types of coughs triggered by allergy attacks including post-nasal drip, bronchial asthma and exercise-induced coughing as well.

If you find yourself suffering from any allergy symptoms contact a specialist/doctor immediately-make sure you aren’t self-treating something that could become worse quickly (You’re better off safe than sorry.)

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