This article contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on a link I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Air Pollution & Environmental Allergies – One Suspected Reason for increase in symptoms.
While the seeming increase in Environmental Allergies may reflect greater media publicity, more public interest and better diagnosis, many experts suggest that there is probably a real rise in allergy incidence as well.
The reason isn’t known, but air pollution (especially vehicle and diesel fumes) and other environmental changes may aggravate Environmental Allergy Symptoms. Epidemiological evidence linking air pollution with an increase in Environmental Allergies comes from Japan, where hay fever was almost unknown before World War II but is now common.
It’s mainly triggered by tree pollens, but if hay fever were merely a matter of breathing in cedar and other tree pollen it would probably be most prevalent in rural areas.
However, hay fever is far more widespread in Japanese cities, near highways, suggesting that there are city air components that increase vulnerability. Allergic disease is also generally more prevalent in developed areas such as Europe and North America than in underdeveloped areas, suggesting that there may be something about the modern urban lifestyle that promotes Environmental Illness Symptoms.
Another proposed explanation for the rise in Environmental Allergies is the “tight building theory.”
According to this concept, today’s energy-efficient urban buildings, with their sealed windows, have created the perfect microclimate for accumulating allergens such as dust mites, animal dander, fungal (mold) spores and insect parts. Supporters of this theory point out that many of us spend much time indoors, breathing in our respiratory allergies.
Other Environmental Allergens, which exacerbates
possible allergy-inducing aspects of our Western lifestyle include the rising popularity of pets, and changes in dietary patterns — for example, less breastfeeding, and earlier introduction of cow’s milk and solid foods that can sensitize an infant’s immune system.
Commercial products may also play a role in the increase of Environmental Allergies.
The frequency of allergic reactions is directly related to the number of people exposed (“population exposure”) to a given allergen. For example, exposure to latex, a natural product from trees used in surgical gloves and medical devices, has spawned an ever-growing crop of latex allergies.
When new consumer items or drugs appear on the market, product allergies often develop. Once penicillin became readily available after World War II, the frequency of allergic reactions to this medication jumped, until today penicillin is one of the most frequent causes of severe anaphylactic shock.
Similarly, the increasing diversity of peanut products, their presence in many prepared foods, their growing popularity as snack items — particularly for young children — and their presence in restaurant meals is producing what some call an epidemic of peanut allergies.
Please refer to other posts regarding Environmental allergies