Spring 2016 Pollen, Allergy and Dry Eye season: A Prevention Strategy From Water Advocate and Radio Host Sharon Kleyne
Grants Pass, OR (PRWEB) May 06, 2016 -- Logically, spring weather, with its moderate humidity and temperatures, should be ideal for the eyes. In other seasons, when the weather is too cold, dry or hot, water on the eye surface can evaporate, creating uncomfortable dry eye symptoms. In spring weather, the eyes can actually absorb moisture from the surrounding air. There’s only one problem, according to radio show and water advocate Sharon Kleyne: Spring is also pollen and allergy season, when most of the flowers bloom. As a result, spring is usually a very bad season for eye comfort (winter is the worst).
Sharon Kleyne will discuss vision care, dry eye and the 2016 spring allergy season on her Sharon Kleyne Hour™ Power of Water® radio show on May 9, 2016. The globally syndicated, education oriented show is heard weekly on VoiceAmerica (Health and Wellness, and Variety Channels) and Apple iTunes. For podcasts of past shows, go to http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/2207/the-sharon-kleyne-hour
“Sharon Kleyne Hour® Power of Water®” is sponsored by Bio-Logic Aqua® Research Water Life Science®, founded by Kleyne and specializing in fresh water, the atmosphere, body surface evaporation, dehydration and education. The Research Center’s signature consumer product is Nature’s Tears® EyeMist® for dry eye.
Pollen allergies, also known as “pollenosis” or “allergic rhinitis,” Kleyne notes, occur largely in spring because that’s when most wind pollinated (“anemophilous”) plants bloom and release pollen (as opposed to bee or animal pollinated plants). The most common wind pollinated plants are trees, including conifers and the vast majority of broadleaf trees.
The flowers on oaks or maples are very small and often barely noticeable because they don’t need to attract bees, say Kleyne. Buckeye, dogwood, madrone and magnolia are bee pollinated trees with large, attractive flowers. The pollen from bee and animal pollenated plants does not get into the air and therefore does not cause allergies. Ragweed, a common cause of hay fever, wind pollinates in mid-summer.
An “allergy,” Kleyne explains, is defined as a reaction to an external substance that most people don’t experience (thus, reaction to poison ivy is not an allergy). Eye allergies are considered “allergic rhinitis,” even though it means “allergy of the nose,” because itching and watery eyes, sneezing and nasal congestion are commonly associated symptoms. In people with pollen allergies, wind borne pollens cause surface irritation of the nose and eyes, stimulating the release of histamines and other inflammatory hormones. The result is redness and inflammation.
The surface of the eye is 99 percent water, according to Kleyne. Pollen dehydrates the tear film because pollen is a water attractant, says Kleyne. Pollen also stimulates “reflex tearing” to wash the pollen away - hence, the watery eyes. The presence of inflammatory hormones is further dehydrating and tends to perpetuate whatever dry eye symptoms develop.
Watery eyes only replace basal tear film water for a few minutes, according to Kleyne. The net effect of watery eyes is a loss of basal tear film water. However, the same reflex tearing also washes away the pollen. .
The worst dry eye season, says Kleyne, is not spring but winter because cold air can’t hold as much water as warmer air and thus tends to be very dry and dehydrating to skin and eyes. Indoor air with forced air heating is also dehydrating factor in winter.
The recommended allergic rhinitis treatment is allergy shots. The best way to soothe spring dry eye, calm redness and irritation, and dilute inflammatory hormones, Kleyne adds, is to maintain the tear film’s water content. The eyes’ surface can be kept moist by drinking at least eight glasses of water a day – in addition to all other fluid intake - and by supplementing the tear film’s natural moisture content with Nature’s Tears® EyeMist® all-natural, a 100% water personal hand held dry eye application from Kleyne’s Bio-Logic Aqua® Research Water Life Science®.
© 2016 Bio-Logic Aqua® Research Water Life Science®. All rights reserved.
Mikaylah Roggasch, Bio-Logic Aqua® Research – Water Life Science® -Rogue Media, http://www.biologicaqua.com, +1 (800) 367-6478, [email protected]
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