(InvestigateTV) — Truth or myth: Is hay fever an allergy to hay that can cause a fever?
Hay fever is actually just a common term used to describe pretty much any nasal allergy.
Dr. Jerry Volcheck, an allergist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, says you can be allergic to hay, but for many people, runny noses and itchy eyes have nothing to do with it.
“Allergic rhinitis is just referring to an allergic reaction occurring in the nose, and it’s due to inhaling airborne allergens. And the most common ones are pollens.”
Those pollens include tree, weed, and grass pollen. He also says fever is usually not a symptom.
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So, how did hay fever get its name?
Dr. Volcheck says people started calling it that in the 1800s because allergies were often bad during hay season.
They associated their runny noses and itchy eyes with smelling hay.
Dr. Volcheck says unless you’re near a hay field and are truly allergic to hay, your symptoms are likely caused by another allergen.
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