Estrogen: rhinitis and hay fever?

[helsinki (imported)]

Dear All

It has been six months since my orchiectomy, and twelve months since I started estrogen. In general, I have found estrogen to be beneficial for mental state and body image.

So far, there has been just one problem: rhinitis and hay fever.

Rhinitis: when I enter a hot or cold room, or become stressed my nose immediately becomes congested.

Hay fever: before this year, I have never had hay fever before. Currently, the hay fever is very annoying with nasal discharge, sneezing and itchy eyes.

Has anyone else had the same experience with estrogen?

Helsinki

[clysmaniac (imported)]

Interesting! My orchiectomy was 4 months ago. I take a low level of testosterone but no estrogen. I've had the same issues with hay fever the lasttwo weeks. This is well past the trees just budding, etc when I've had some problems before. Now everything is out and in full growth. I don't know how it can be related to my castration but the timing is very similar to yours. Anyway Claratin works great to relieve the symptoms.

[bobbie (imported)]

Castration changes your body in so many unexpected ways. My allergies were never much of a problem till a few years ago.

Eunuch life is So Much Fun I still love it anyways.

[Kangan (imported)]

I've always had allergies - mostly to trees and ragweed. These allergies have diminished with increasing age. However, now that I am castrated, I do seem to be more sensitive to tree pollen again....

[LB-herelt (imported)]

Due to a certain reason I don't take testosterone but I had an 'estrogen' treatment. I have to say that I'm quite feminized, but I feel as eunuch and I never wanted to become a girl. I had no problems with allergies, but some oscillated my weight. I think that allergies are not related to the absence of testicles or the estrogen's treatment, but simply with the individual body.

[transward (imported)]

Oddly enough my experience has been precisely the opposite. Before blockers and estrogen, I always had hay fever for a couple of weeks in early summer. Afterwards it diminished dramatically.

Transward

[Solaris (imported)]

During my long association with estrogen, I have been on and off it several times, and each time I return to it, my allergies also return after a few weeks. I usually have no problems with allergies, but since again returning to the estrogen, I find myself back on the nasal spray to treat the rhinitis and hayfever, and the two inhalers to treat the asthma.

I know that estrogen is very powerful, and brings many "Superwoman" changes to the whole being, carrying out "rewiring" to the body and mind like nobody's business. This brings all kinds of reactions with it but, this time, I intend to remain on it for the long-term, and keep the dosage steady, to see whether my body eventually gets used to it, settles down, and allows me to get rid of the allergies again.

[ramses (imported)]

Testosterone lowers immunity and may reduce allergy reactions.

Mating with showy males may reduce offspring’s ability to fight off pathogens

January 10th, 2007 in Biology /

In many animals, males advertise to potential mates with showy traits, many of which are linked to testosterone levels. However, a new study suggests that, in fish, choosing a flashier mate may cause future generations to be more susceptible to pathogens.

In the January 2007 issue of The American Naturalist, a new study by Judith Mank (Uppsala University, Sweden) finds that mating with males who possess showy traits – such as bright colors or long tails and fins – results in higher testosterone levels in males over many generations. Because male and female testosterone levels are correlated, female choice also results in an increase in female testosterone levels.

Testosterone is an immune suppressor, and increases in testosterone can reduce an animal's ability to fight off diseases. Therefore, a female's choice of a male with exaggerated ornaments may make her daughters and granddaughters less able to resist pathogens, Mank argues.

However, there may be some benefits for the females. For example, females are larger than males in many fish species, perhaps because of the requisite energetic burdens of producing massive amounts of roe, and elevated testosterone increases body size.

Thus, as Mank writes: "The benefits of increased body size to roe production and mate selection may, at least in some cases, counter the immunosuppressive effects of elevated testosterone in females."

Source: University of Chicago Press Journals

http://www.physorg.com/news87656544.html