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Complications

By Mayo Clinic staff

Problems that may be associated with hay fever include:

  • Reduced quality of life. Hay fever can interfere with your enjoyment of activities and cause you to be less productive. For many people, hay fever symptoms lead to absences from work or school.
  • Poor sleep. Hay fever symptoms can keep you awake or make it hard to stay asleep.
  • Worsening asthma. If you have asthma, hay fever can worsen signs and symptoms such as coughing and wheezing.
  • Sinusitis. Prolonged sinus congestion due to hay fever may increase your susceptibility to sinusitis — an infection or inflammation of the membrane that lines the sinuses.
  • Ear infection. In children, hay fever often is a factor in middle ear infection (otitis media).
References
  1. Weber RW. Allergic rhinitis. Primary Care Clinics in Office Practice. 2008;35:1.
  2. Eapen RJ, et al. Allergic rhinitis — History and presentation. Otolaryngology Clinics of North America. 2008;41:325.
  3. deShazo RD, et al. Patient information: Allergic rhinitis (seasonal allergies). http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 19, 2010.
  4. Practice parameters for managing allergic rhinitis. American Family Physician. http://www.aafp.org/afp/2009/0701/p79.html. Accessed Feb. 25, 2010.
  5. deShazo RD, et al. Pharmacotherapy of allergic rhinitis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Feb. 19, 2010.
  6. Rabago D, et al. Saline nasal irrigation for upper respiratory conditions. American Family Physician. 2009;80:1117.
  7. Tips to remember: Indoor allergens. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/indoorallergens.stm. Accessed Feb. 19, 2010.
  8. Tips to remember: Outdoor allergens. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/outdoorallergens.stm. Accessed Feb. 19, 2010.
  9. Herbs and other dietary supplements. In: Bauer B. Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: Time Inc.; 2010:173.
  10. Man L. Complementary and alternative medicine for allergic rhinitis. Current Opinion in Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery. 2009;17:226.
  11. Naegleria FAQs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/faqs.html. Accessed Dec. 30, 2011.
DS00174 Jan. 20, 2012

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