Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and seasonal allergies can often coexist. While research suggests that a history of reported allergies is equally as common in people with RA as without, allergic rhinitis (hay fever) has been found to be associated with an increased risk of RA. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, meaning that it causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the body’s healthy organs and tissues as though they were foreign invaders.
Allergies affect a different part of your immune system. Mark C. Jacobson, MD, medical director of Allergy and Asthma Physicians in Hinsdale, Illinois, notes that allergies occur when a portion of your immune system overreacts after exposure to antigens, such as pollen from trees, grass, ragweed, and weeds, or mold from various sources, such as decaying plants and leaves in the environment.
Seasonal allergies are generally not life-threatening, Dr. Jacobson says, but they can make you uncomfortable, causing symptoms such as sneezing, stuffiness, a runny nose, and itchiness in your nose, the roof of your mouth, throat, eyes, or ears.
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