Minnesota’s new-found warm weather promises to bring blooming flowers and green trees but with those come annoying Spring allergies. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, More than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies, meaning around 1 in 5 people. Undoubtedly, St. Paul Academy and Summit School students have spring allergies, but how many really know what causes them?

Allergies cause a variety of symptoms including runny or stuffy nose, itchy or watery eyes, headache, sneezing, and more. These symptoms are caused by something that almost everybody has heard of: histamine.

When an allergen (something that causes an allergic reaction) enters the body, the immune system’s B cells make antibodies specific to that exact allergen. Theses precise antibodies attach to a mast cell which is home to huge amounts of histamine. When the allergen attaches to the antibodies of the mast cell, the antibody registers it as a threat and releases histamine. When this histamine is released, a signal is sent around the area to say that there is a foreign and harmful thing present in the body. This ‘freak out’ by the body creates the symptoms that one feels when allergies hit hard.

The annoying thing about allergies though, is that said allergen is not really harmful. Most of the time, the immune system targets the things that have the potential to hurt the body, but sometimes the immune system is quite a drama queen and creates something out of nothing. So for those who don’t have allergies, the immune system knows that these particles are not actually a problem.

Luckily, there is a solution or at least a temporary relief for allergies in antihistamines. This is most often in pill or epi-pen form and work to interfere with the histamine that causes symptoms.

So when spring allergies strike, don’t be mad at mother nature, be mad at your immune system.