Do Animals Get Hay Fever?
Some people suffer from hay fever all year-round, but it is most common in the spring and fall. Did you know that animals can also have hay fever? Some of our pets spend the majority of their lives indoors and when they do venture outdoors, they begin reacting to the pollen of grasses and trees. They show the symptoms—itchy skin, ears and even watery eyes—of hay fever, which is caused by allergic reaction. The root cause is often the filtered air of indoor environments where we tend to spend most of our time. Native wildlife, however, exhibit little to no occurrence of hay fever because of naturally evolved tolerances to the pollen of our native plants. Because they spend their entire lives outdoors in contact with the pollen of hundreds of different plant species, their immune systems do not identify the particles as foreign.
Viewer Tip: Humans have started reacting to agents that in the past would have been harmless to our immune systems. Generations before us were more active in the outdoors and therefore less likely to have a bad reaction to pollen. Spending time outside can help to gradually build up our tolerance to the pollens of North American plants that cause hay fever.
This information if provided by the Georgia Wildlife Fedeartion. For more information, visit www.gwf.org.
Seasons: Spring and Fall
(Source: http://ilovebacteria.com/hayfeveranimals.htm)
