Why Morning Hay Fever Symptoms Peak in the Morning – Expert Insights

2024/03/06 14:15 Weather News

Currently, the scattering of cedar pollen is at its peak in a wide area.

When we ask people with hay fever what time of day their symptoms are most painful, in addition to daytime when the amount of pollen scattered is high, for some reason many of them say “early morning” before going out.

Why do hay fever symptoms appear more strongly in the morning? We interviewed Tsukasa Kude, director of Setagaya Internal Medicine and Neurology Clinic (Setagaya Ward, Tokyo).

Symptoms peak in the morning too!?

In a survey conducted by Weather News for members (only for people with hay fever), when we asked the question, “When is the worst time for hay fever?”, the most common answer was around 2:00 p.m., and the second was around 2 p.m. The most common time was around 7am. (Held March 4-5, 2023, participants: 5,079 people)

Hay fever that occurs when you wake up before going out and have not yet encountered pollen is called “morning attack.”

Symptoms include runny nose, stuffy nose, sneezing, itchy eyes, and feeling lightheaded. Why do these symptoms occur in the morning? Let’s ask Ken Kute to explain.

Why “Morning Attack” occurs

“There are several reasons why morning attacks occur,” says Ken Kute.

“First of all, pollen is heavy, so what is scattered indoors will eventually fall onto the floor.The first reason is that we inhale it while sleeping.

When you wake up, the house dust that has accumulated on your futon flies up. The second reason is that you inhale it all at once.

The third reason is that there are substances in the morning runny nose that induce inflammation, which can cause allergic reactions.

When you sleep, your autonomic nervous system is dominated by the parasympathetic nervous system, but when you wake up, it switches to the sympathetic nervous system. The fourth reason is that your nose becomes sensitive to irritation at that time.

Among these four possible reasons, the fourth one seems to be the most dominant one among researchers at present.” (Professor Ken Kute)

Autonomic nervous system switching occurs every morning throughout the year, but “morning attack” is particularly likely to occur during the period when pollen begins to fly.

Measures to alleviate symptoms as much as possible

So, what kind of people are susceptible to “morning attack” and how can they be prevented?

“People who are naturally allergic, specifically those with hay fever, are susceptible to morning attack. The countermeasures are the same as the following general hay fever countermeasures.” (Dr. Ken Kute)

(1) Wear a mask before going to bed at night to avoid breathing in pollen. Some people cannot wear a mask because it interferes with their sleep, but some people actually do it and find it effective.
(2) Use an air purifier to prevent house dust containing pollen.
(3) Hay fever is more likely to occur when humidity drops, so use a humidifier to maintain indoor humidity.
(4) Treat hay fever with medicines under the guidance of a doctor.

There is no single treatment for morning attack, so they are all general measures against hay fever. If you have a particularly hard time in the morning, don’t forget to take these measures before going to bed.

You may also want to talk to your family doctor and have them switch you to a type of medication that you take at night (the effect peaks in the morning).” (Dr. Ken Kute)

This is the time when pollen dispersal is in full swing. If you have symptoms of hay fever, we recommend that you take measures to relieve your symptoms in the morning.

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2024-03-06 05:15:00
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