Springtime is a tough time for people with hay fever.
And while some of us tend to think of hay fever as an allergy, there’s a few things that aren’t quite right about that diagnosis.
Firstly, it isn’t a fever. Secondly, you don’t get it from hay.
Instead, it’s a series of symptoms that are triggered by dispersed pollen or dust, inhaled into our body, and triggering a temporary affliction called allergic rhinitis.
And when this happens, our body gets to work trying to destroy these foreign particles in our bodies.
On this episode of Huh? Science Explained, Matthew Agius takes us inside the human body, where his immune system is gearing up to pulverise some pesky pollen.
Huh? Science Explained is a LiSTNR production.
Listen to more episodes of Huh? Science Explained
Originally published by Cosmos as Hay fever bad right now? It’s actually your body trying to help you
Matthew Ward Agius
Matthew Agius is a science writer for Cosmos Magazine.
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