Got Seasonal Brain Fog?

Allergic rhinitis, or seasonal allergies, often referred to as hay fever, affect 20 million U.S. adults and more than 6 million children.1 The most common symptoms include sneezing, stuffy or runny nose, watery and itchy eyes and itching in your nose, mouth or throat, but a sizable number of allergy sufferers also experience noticeable brain fog as well.

What causes the fuzzy-headed feeling is up for debate, but many theories are out there. One of the simplest is that allergy symptoms can make it difficult to get a good night’s sleep, which in turn makes you fatigued and takes a toll on your ability to think clearly and be productive. Others, however, believe there may be more to it than that, and the inflammation triggered by allergies may be directly or indirectly affecting the brain.

How do Allergies Affect Your Brain?

Allergies are your body’s reaction to particles that it considers foreign (allergens). The first time your body encounters an allergen, your plasma cells release immunoglobulin E (IgE), an antibody specific to that allergen. IgE attaches to the surface of your mast cells, which are found in great numbers in your surface tissues, such as your skin and nasal mucous membranes, where they help mediate inflammatory responses. Mast cells release a number of important chemical mediators, one of which is histamine.

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