Hay Fever Research Paper

Hay fever is usually caused by recurring exposure to pollen. One of the most common chronic respiratory diseases is allergic rhinitis. Statistics from ABS prove that this particular condition is widespread amongst 3.7 million Australians in between the years 2011-12. Though this statistics shows the prevalence of hay fever the condition is mostly not recognised and understated. This is because individuals suffering from hay fever take over the counter medications and do not present themselves to the doctor.

The Indigenous Australians overall have a high rate of respiratory diseases in comparison to the non-Indigenous Australians. To illustrate this further, in the 2012-2013 statistics of AATSIHS (Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey), 31% of Aboriginals found

to have respiratory diseases.

Aboriginal people were reported to have 1.2 times higher rate of respiratory diseases than non-Indigenous Australians. Gender-wise, Indigenous women were more prone to respiratory diseases with 34% than their male counterparts with 28%. The prevalence of asthma was a common condition for the Indigenous people. 20% of Indigenous females and 15% Indigenous men have asthma. Asthma affected 20% of Indigenous Australians between the years 2012-2013 who lived in non-remote areas whilst only 10% in remote areas. Only 4% of Indigenous Australians were found to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There were many Indigenous Australians who were admitted in the hospital for respiratory conditions; amongst these COPD was 4.4 times higher, 3.3 times higher for pneumonia and 1.8 times higher for asthma. There are a variety of differing risk factors for respiratory diseases. These risk factors are environmental pollutants, physical inactivity, viral infections, chemicals and hereditary factors. Other contributing factors include deprived environmental conditions which can be greatly influenced by the country one lives in, socioeconomic disadvantage and previous medical conditions.

Smoking is an example of a key risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Age also contributes to COPD for the increase in age worsens it. Asthma attacks can be triggered through some risky behaviour such as smoking cigarette, use of alcohol and substance use; family history of asthma increases the risk of developing it. An expecting mother that smokes during her pregnancy poses risk to the foetal health. The neonate will have respiratory ill health as the result of the toxins from the cigarette smoking.

There are both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors involved with respiratory diseases. Some modifiable risk factors are: taking medicine for asthma as a preventive measure, exposure to chemicals, passive smoking and stress. A non-modifiable risk factor includes changes in the environment such as being exposed to pollen during the season of spring and changing dry weather patterns.

Not smoking and regular physical activity are a few examples of the protective factors for respiratory diseases. Others include attentiveness of personal asthma triggers such as exercise and being informed of strategies targeting personal prevention and various plans for asthma attacks through education. People who work in chemical industries should wear protective equipments such as masks which in turn prevent exposure of chemicals.
There are various sociocultural factors that cause respiratory diseases. These are: peers, culture, family, religion and media. The likelihood of developing asthma is high when there’s a family history of asthma likewise in the case of COPD it is more prevalent amongst Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander’s due to the significant smoking rates. The Australian government has set a smoking program that targets the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This program looks into reducing Indigenous smoking rates through funding from the government.
Respiratory diseases increase in the low income group, people with little or no education and unemployment. This is because such individuals make poor health choices and don’t seek medical assistance. In the low economic status group, people are less likely to buy preventative medication and more likely to work in hazardous environment such as mining areas are therefore more at risk of respiratory diseases.