Home plants and flowers are in almost every home. However, not everyone knows that they can have an adverse effect on a person. For example, some are allergic to orchids. This is a very common plant, which is very popular because of its beautiful and unusual flowers. However, in some people, after the appearance of this miracle of nature in the apartment, the condition significantly worsens. In this article we will talk about the symptoms of such an allergy, the methods of its treatment.
Features
It should be noted that an adverse reaction to these flowers occurs much less frequently than to most other flowering plants. Therefore, allergies to orchids are not so common. The secret is that allergies in most cases develop in the form of a reaction to pollen, which appears in the air, and then is inhaled by a person.
In this case, in flowers that belong to the orchid family, all pollen is glued into a kind of pollinia. It is able to tolerate only special pollinating insects. As a result, pollen grains do not appear in the air, so it is not so simple to provoke an allergy to an orchid.
Causes
Corresponding symptoms can only occur if a person in the process of leaving repeatedly touched a flower or actively sniffed it. Only in such a situation can pollen appear on the hands or face, and then get into the respiratory tract. In addition, it is worth noting that this exotic plant is considered very whimsical, so it often has to be treated with chemicals. All kinds of pest control products and fertilizers are popular sources of various allergic reactions.
An allergy to orchids happens when the human body reacts to a specific substrate on which a flower grows. To create the most comfortable living conditions for this tropical flower, it is usually planted not in the ground, but in a kind of mixture of white peat, pieces of the bark of some trees, expanded clay, sand, charcoal, pebbles, mosses, nutshells and even polystyrene. Such a substrate in most cases consists of all kinds of components, many of which can become serious irritants to the human immune system.
It is worth noting that especially often there is an allergy to an orchid in children. This is explained by the fact that the baby's immune system inadequately responds to all kinds of stimuli, among which may be from some of the above.
It should be noted that in some cases, several sources can provoke an allergy to an orchid at the same time. For example, substrate and pollen.
Symptoms
Not everyone has even heard that orchids can cause allergies. Therefore, the arising symptoms are often attributed to a common cold. Especially if they begin to appear in the autumn-winter period. The most common symptoms of an allergy to an orchid are considered signs characteristic of a reaction to plant pollen and pollinosis.
You can suspect such a condition if you have one or more of the following symptoms:
- nasal congestion;
- copious discharge from the nasal passages without color (they can be both mucous and watery);
- frequent sneezing
- burning and tingling in the nose;
- sore throat;
- redness of the eyes;
- dry cough;
- fast fatiguability;
- lacrimation
- increased irritability.
Other symptoms are also possible. An allergy to the phalaenopsis orchid can occur in the form of itching and rashes on the skin, fever, signs of suffocation, but such symptoms are extremely rare. In especially severe cases, a violent allergic reaction can begin, which will require emergency medical attention.
As a rule, it’s not easy to quickly determine the exact cause of the ailment. The fact is that excoriated samples standard for allergic reactions are rarely used in such cases. Therefore, the patient himself must carefully monitor what events could provoke such a negative state.
Diagnostics
Detection of a clear relationship between the appearance of allergy symptoms and periods of flowering orchids can facilitate diagnosis. It is important to remember whether you tried to touch a flower or sniff it shortly before. If one or more of these events took place, it is safe to say that the pollen of the plant is to blame for your painful condition.
If signs of allergy appear after caring for the plant, then, most likely, the root of evil lies in the use of specific chemicals, which led to such negative consequences. Finally, if you are allergic to this flower for a long time, and also does not depend on factors such as procedures for caring for it and flowering, then the conclusion suggests itself. So, the reason is in the substrate that you use for growing.
Household dust mite
In some situations, allergy symptoms do not go away even after the substrate has been replaced. Then, to make sure that the flower is guilty of your condition, you should temporarily remove it from the house, exclude any interaction with it. During this period, you need to carefully monitor the reaction of the body.
It is possible that the reason was not at all in the home flower. Often, allergic reactions provoke a household tick, the dimensions of which are simply microscopic. You can get rid of it by conducting daily wet cleaning of the room, constantly airing it. You should also get rid of soft toys and carpets, carefully hammer out and dry the bedding in which he often hides.
Treatment methods
The first step that will help you get rid of an allergy is to remove its source from home. For the same purpose, you need to carefully ventilate the room, wipe with a damp cloth all surfaces on which irritating
To get rid of the allergen on the surface of the respiratory tract, rinse the nasopharynx with a weak saline solution. This will also help relieve the most unpleasant symptoms. To eliminate irritating antigen faster, doctors advise drinking as much fluid as possible.
Drug therapy
In some cases, you have to take a course of certain drugs. In this situation, as a rule, vasoconstrictive nasal drops, antihistamines, gels, creams or ointments are used, which reduce itching and rashes on the skin. Anti-inflammatory drugs and eye drops also help.
Ultimately, the use of a particular remedy is due to the symptoms that provoke an allergy. The main thing is not to self-medicate. All medications should be prescribed by a doctor, and dosages should be discussed with him. The choice depends on the condition of the patient, the severity of the allergy. With a violent reaction, hormonal drugs may be required, and in simple situations you can get along with antihistamines.
Prevention
Now that you know whether orchids can cause allergies, it is worthwhile to find out what preventive measures are available that can protect against such a condition.
They will become especially relevant for those who have previously been the victim of an allergic reaction of any etiology. Especially if it was hay fever. As well as people whose body can be weakened by chronic diseases or infections.
For them, it is recommended to adhere to certain rules. It is forbidden to put pots with home orchids in the immediate vicinity of a bed or a place where a person spends most of his time. The room in which the flowers are located should be regularly ventilated, as well as wet cleaning. Try not to decorate nurseries with orchids and any other flowering plants, so as not to provoke a potentially dangerous allergic reaction in a child once again.
Minimize the use of chemicals. And those of them that need to be used with a spray gun, completely exclude. If possible, use only natural fertilizers. This can be onion peel, a decoction of potatoes, wood ash, an infusion of eggshell.
Get rid of the substrate
If even after such measures the allergy has not passed, the substrate should be changed. Often an allergy can occur to spores of fungi, a favorable environment for the development of which are decomposed pieces of bark.
To prevent this from happening, change the substrate from time to time, do not fill the plants in order to avoid the process of decay. If fungal flora nevertheless has formed, a weak solution of potassium permanganate will help get rid of it.