Why do people have seasonal allergies? - Eleanor Nelsen

Zakaj imajo nekateri ljudje sezonske alergije? - Eleanor Nelsen

Translator: Nika Kotnik Reviewer: Matej Divjak

Ah, spring.

Ah pomlad.

Grass growing, flowers blooming, trees growing new leaves,

Trava raste, rože cvetijo, drevesa dobivajo nove liste.

but if you get allergies,

ampak če imate alergije,

this explosion of new life probably inspires more dread than joy.

ta eksplozija novega življenja najbrž povzroči več groze kot veselja.

Step outside, and within minutes, you're sneezing and congested.

Stopiš ven in v nekaj minutah kihaš in imaš zatečen nos.

Your nose is running,

Teče ti iz nosa,

your eyes are swollen and watery,

oči se solzijo in so zatečene,

your throat is itchy.

grlo te srbi.

For you and millions of others, it's seasonal allergy time.

Zate in za milijone drugih je to čas sezonskih alergij.

So what's behind this onslaught of mucus?

Kaj je za tem napadom sluzi?

The answer lies within you.

Odgovor leži v tebi.

It's your immune system.

Tvoj imunski sistem.

Seasonal allergies, also called hay fever, or allergic rhinitis,

Sezonske alergije, imenovane tudi seneni nahod ali alergični rinitis,

are a hypersensitive immune response to something that's not actually harmful.

so hipersenzitiven imunski odziv na nekaj, kar sploh ni škodljivo.

Pollen from trees and grass,

Cvetni prah iz dreves in trave,

and mold spores from tiny fungi find their way into your mucous membranes

in spore plesni iz malih gliv najdejo pot v tvoje mukozne membrane

and your body attacks these innocuous travelers

in tvoje telo napade te nenevarne potnike

the same way it would infectious bacteria.

na isti način kot bi bakterije.

The immune system has a memory.

Imunski sistem ima spomin.

When a foreign substance gets tagged as threatening,

Ko tujo substanco označijo za nevarno,

white blood cells produce customized antibodies

bele krvničke naredijo prilagojena protitelesa,

that will recognize the offender the next time around.

ki bodo naslednjič prepoznala napadalca.

They then promptly recruit the body's defense team.

Nato hitro rekrutirajo obrambo telesa.

But sometimes, the immune system accidentally discriminates

A včasih imunski sistem ponesreči diskriminira

against harmless substances, like pollen.

proti neškodljivim substancam, kot je cvetni prah.

When it wafts in again, antibodies on the surface of white blood cells

Ko se spet prikaže, ga protitelesa na površini belih krvničk

recognize it and latch on.

prepoznajo in se pripnejo nanj.

This triggers the cell to release inflammatory chemicals,

To v celicah sproži sprostitev vnetnih kemikalij,

like histamine,

kot je histamin,

which stimulate nerve cells,

ki stimulira živčne celice

and cause blood vessels in the mucous membranes to swell and leak fluid.

in povzroči, da žile v mukoznih membranah zatečejo in iz njih teče tekočina.

In other words, itchiness, sneezing, congestion, and a runny nose.

Z drugimi besedami, srbenje, kihanje, zamašen nos in smrkanje.

Allergies usually, but not always, show up for the first time during childhood.

Alergije se ponavadi, ne pa zmeraj, prvič pokažejo v otroštvu.

But why do some people get allergies and others don't?

A zakaj jih nekateri dobijo, drugi pa ne?

Allergies tend to run in families, so genetics may be one culprit.

Alergije so ponavadi pogoste v družinah, tako da je delno morda kriva genetika.

In fact, errors in a gene that helps regulate the immune system

V bistvu so napake v genu, ki pomaga regulirati imunski sistem,

are associated with higher rates of allergies.

povezane z višjo stopnjo alergij.

The environment you grow up in matters, too.

Okolje, v katerem odraščamo, ima prav tako svoj vpliv.

Being exposed to an allergen as a baby

Če si alergenu izpostavljen kot dojenček,

makes you less likely to actually develop an allergy to it.

je verjetnost, da boš nanj razvil alergijo, veliko manjša.

People who grow up on farms,

Ljudje, ki odraščajo na kmetiji,

in big families,

v velikih družinah

and in the developing world also tend to have fewer allergies,

in v razvijajočem se svetu imajo prav tako manj alergij,

although there are plenty of exceptions, partly thanks to genetics.

čeprav obstaja veliko izjem, predvsem zahvaljujoč genetiki.

One theory is that as children,

Ena teorija pravi, da imajo kot otroci

they encounter more of the microbes and parasites

več stika z mikrobi in paraziti,

that co-evolved with traditional hunter-gatherer societies.

ki so se razvili hkrati s tradicionalnimi lovsko-nabiralniškimi skupnostmi.

Called the hygiene hypothesis,

Imenuje se higienska hipoteza,

the idea is that when the immune system

ideja pa je ta, da ko imunski sistem

isn't exposed to the familiar cast of microbes,

ni izpostavljen znani skupini mikrobov,

it'll keep itself busy mounting defenses against harmless substances,

se zaposli z obrambo proti neškodljivim substancam,

like pollen.

kot je cvetni prah.

Another theory is that an immune system toughened up by a barrage of pathogens

Druga teorija pravi, da je za imunski sistem, okrepljen s ploho patogenov,

is less likely to overreact to allergens.

manj verjetno, da bo pretirano odreagiral na alergene.

Pollen is a common offender, just because we encounter so much of it,

Cvetni prah je pogost, zato ker smo z njim veliko v stiku,

but there's a long list of substances:

a tu je dolg seznam substanc:

dust,

prah,

animal dander,

živalski prhljaj,

insect venom,

strup insektov,

medications,

zdravila

certain foods,

določena hrana,

that can send your immune system into overdrive.

ki lahko pošljejo vaš imunski sistem v višjo prestavo.

Some of these reactions can be scary.

Nekatere od teh reakcij so lahko grozljive.

An allergy can develop into full-blown anaphylaxis,

Alergija se lahko razvije v polno razvito anafilakso,

which typically brings on severe swelling,

ki ponavadi prinese hudo zatekanje,

shortness of breath,

dispnejo

and very low blood pressure.

in zelo nizek krvni pritisk.

It can be deadly.

Lahko je smrtna.

The body can even have an allergic reaction to itself

Telo ima lahko celo alergijsko reakcijo samo nase,

causing auto-immune disorders,

kar povzroči avtoimunske bolezni,

like multiple sclerosis, lupus, and type 1 diabetes.

kot je multipla skleroza, lupus in diabetes tipa 1.

But even non-life threatening allergy symptoms can make you miserable,

A celo ne-življenje ogrožajoči simptomi te lahko naredijo nesrečnega,

so what can you do about it?

kaj lahko torej storiš?

Medications can help reduce the symptoms.

Zdravila lahko olajšajo simptome.

The most common ones keep histamines from binding to your cells.

Najpogostejša preprečujejo histaminu, da bi se pritrdil na celice.

These antihistamines stop the inflammation response.

Ti antihistaminiki ustavijo vnetni odziv.

Steroids can help dial down the immune system.

Steroidi pomagajo umiriti imunski sistem.

Another more permanent option is immunotherapy.

Druga, bolj trajna možnost je imunoterapija.

Deliberate, controlled exposure

Namerna, nadzorovana izpostavitev

to gradually increasing amounts of an allergen

količini alergena, ki jo postopoma zvišujemo,

can teach the immune system that it isn't dangerous after all.

lahko nauči imunski sistem, da sploh ni nevarna.

And if you're really adventurous, there's a less traditional option:

In če si res pustolovski, je tu manj običajna možnost:

intestinal parasites.

črevesni paraziti.

When hookworms sink their teeth into the intestinal wall,

Ko trakulja zasadi zobe v črevesno steno,

they secrete chemicals that blunt the immune system.

izloča kemikalije, ki oslabijo imunski sistem.

Some studies suggest that hookworms can treat allergies,

Nekatere študije predlagajo, da lahko trakulje zdravijo alergije,

which may be another reason

kar je morda še en razlog,

allergies are more common in industrialized countries

zakaj so alergije pogostejše v industrializiranem svetu,

where hookworms are few and far between.

kjer je trakulj zelo malo.

Of course, you can always just wait your seasonal allergies out.

Seveda lahko še vedno samo počakaš, da sezonske alergije minejo.

The spring pollen onslaught dwindles by mid-summer,

Pomladni napad cvetnega prahu se zmanjša sredi poletja,

just in time for ragweed season.

ravno pravi čas za sezono ambrozije.