“What Are Seasonal Allergies?”

Natural cures health article for allergy relief & treatment

Allergy subjects in this natural cures articles section include: allergy relief with allergy immunology for food allergy symptom and allergy asthma for allergy treatment including allergy medication for dog allergy, peanut allergy, cat allergy, skin allergy and milk allergy. Some allergic causes can include wheat allergy and springtime allergy even latex allergy& mold allergy reaction along with gluten allergy & advice for allergy treatment

Seasonal allergies are one type of allergic rhinitis.

If you recall our chapter on allergic rhinitis you know that it is a type of allergy where breathing in an allergen becomes the source of an inflammatory reaction in the membranes of the nose.

With this seasonal allergy, inflammation happens only during a particular period.

This is most likely caused by molds, pollens, or other substances that are in the air during specific seasons.

If one becomes afflicted with allergies only during definite seasons of the year, or if they become aggravated during those times, you might be suffering seasonal allergies.

Common Allergens

A wide array of substances can pose the risk of becoming respiratory allergens. It would be hard to discover the specific allergen that produces one's symptoms.

Common cursors for seasonal allergies are fungus or mold and pollen.

Pollen

Pollen grains are common causes triggering seasonal allergic episodes.

Pollen from ragweed is the more usual allergens responsible for almost 3/4 (or 75%) of such allergy cases. However, pollen from any grass or tree can trigger allergic symptoms.

Pollen sources and counts in each area change with location, general weather conditions, and the kind of plants present.

For example, in Northern America, pollen allergies generally follow this schedule of early to mid-spring for tree pollen; somewhere late in spring towards early on in summer, grass pollen abound; while the season for weed pollen falls around autumn.

Molds

Small bits of molds and their spores bear allergens that are hard to avoid since they are present anywhere.

Most molds grow on decomposing plant matter but may also be present on living plants. Reaping ones harvests and disturbing the soil releases molds.

Varieties of molds free spores whether the air is dry or has moist.

Common seasonal allergy symptoms include:

• Bouts of sneezing
• Itchy nose
• Watery eyes
• Itchy palate and throat
• Nasal congestion
• Runny nose
• Ear popping and fullness
• Sensations of pressure on cheeks and forehead

Avoiding Allergen Exposure

Learning how to avoid exposure to specific allergens goes a long way in bringing comfort and relief from allergy symptoms. It also reduces the symptoms and improves tolerance to unavoidable allergens carried in the air.

If you know which substances are causing your allergies, there are measures you can take to reduce exposure. As pollen and mold are the most common seasonal allergens, you should know how to minimize contact with these.

Avoiding Pollen

Generally, pollen counts are highest during early morning hours (5 to 10 am.). Wearing a dust mask during lawn and garden work will help. Planning outdoor activities like camping around seasons with high pollen count will also help.

Taking frequent showers or baths to remove pollen from hair and skin reduces pollen exposure after activities outdoors. Showering before bed will also help keep contaminants out of your bedding.

Keeping windows and doors closed reduces indoor exposure to pollen.

Circulating air with window or attic fans is not recommended since it will increase indoor pollen levels. Installing air conditioning in the house and car may relieve seasonal allergy symptoms.

Avoid hanging items out to dry, as pollen can cling to these, which may be brought into your home.

Avoiding Mold

Working on a farm or just in the garden will bring you in contact with molds, while activities such as mowing, threshing, or working with compost causes the highest mold levels.

Sensitive persons should wear facemasks that are tight enough to limit air infiltration around the edges. As with pollen, it is helpful to stay inside when mold count is high, such as when the lawn is freshly mown.

Molds also grow indoors and are found in carpeting, bedding, and upholstered furniture.

Basements and bathrooms are common mold areas, but they can also be found in houseplants and in anything that is stored, but has some level of humidity.

You can prevent mold growth by eliminating its conditions. Look out for damp areas, like drains, crawl spaces, or basements, and keep them clean and dry. Disinfecting these areas with diluted bleach helps.

Also, regularly steam or dry clean rugs, upholstery, and beddings, either by yourself or by a professional.

Treatments

Due to developments in recent years, it is now possible for most people to get relief from their seasonal allergy symptoms by using prescription and/or over-the-counter medications.

But before trying any of these treatments, consult with your doctor to get an accurate diagnosis of your condition. If prescription medication therapy is appropriate for your condition, make sure your doctor is aware of all the other drugs and supplements you are taking.

The major categories of allergy treatments include antihistamines, decongestants, anti-inflammatory medications and anticholingergics. Your doctor may suggest that you use one or a combination of these, depending on your symptoms and its severity.

As you learn more about your own seasonal allergic symptoms, the more you will be better able to avoid the causes and go for more effective treatments.

(A) Snagging the Villains:
Some Known Contributors to Allergies

The first step in preventing contact with an individual’s allergens, the substances to which the person is allergic, is to figure out what they are.

According to some experts, there are times that common sense will tell a person what is causing his or her allergies.

This is because there are instances wherein a patient will say that whenever he is around a cat or he touches a cat, sneezing occurs, his eyes itch and water, or he develops asthma, or he gets hives.

Alternatively, there are people who will tell their doctor that whenever they eat anything with soy in it, she gets an immediate reaction. Usually, within 30 minutes she is having stomach upset and diarrhea. So, sometimes a person just knows his allergy.

On the other hand, maybe people do not really know the cause. For example, inside a house, there may be feathers, pets, and house dust, and a person could be allergic to any one of those or to all three. That is when an allergy test can yield a lot of useful information.

Basically, an allergy is an intense reaction of the body to a matter, more commonly known as allergen, which acts as invader.

To recognize and capture these villains, the immune system first assembles a vigilante committee of antibodies that gang up on the invaders.

Then it gathers a mob of inflammatory substances (like histamines) that try to do away with the evil intruders.

If a person is having persistent allergic symptoms, but he cannot isolate the allergen, it is a good idea to see an allergist, get tested, and find out what allergens are.

If you get a skin test, a tiny bit of allergen is put on a person’s skin, and the doctor sees whether there is a reaction or none. On the other hand, an individual can also get a blood test called the Radioallergosorbent test or RAST.

This test is less sensitive, but on the other hand, people do not have to put up with the skin reaction that they get from the skin test.

Consequently, once they have the results of the test, they can plan a well-targeted strategy for prevention. Better yet, people should be more knowledgeable on the things that contribute to allergies. This is one effective way of snagging the villains.

Hence, to know more on the common contributors to allergies, here is a list of the villains that trigger a person’s allergy attack.

1. Airborne substances

One of the most common contributors to a person’s allergies is the airborne substances. These are substances that are carried through the air.

Dust mites are one of the most well recognized sources of allergies. These microscopic, spider-like animals are so plentiful that the population in one gram of dust, about 1/33 of an ounce, can be in the thousands. In addition, many people are allergic to them.

Dust mites like to hang out in bedding, carpeting, and upholstered furniture, feasting on leftover skin scales shed by people. There, they chow down and defecate.

Mold is another popular airborne contributor of allergies. Wherever it is found, in the refrigerator, foyer, bathroom cracks, etc., mold launches tiny reproductive spores that dance on the air right into your nostrils.

In addition, those spores can cause an allergic reaction in many people.

2. Food allergens

These foods have substances that trigger an allergy attack in a person like eggs, milk, fish, shrimps, etc. However, there are some instances wherein people are often confused with food allergies and food intolerance. That is why it is important to determine the difference between the two.

3. Others

There are also other matters that trigger an allergy attack like medications, insect stings and bites, chemicals, etc.

All of these things should be noted well by people who have allergic reactions to any of these substances so that they will know when to avoid it and they will not find it hard to find an immediate remedy to the allergy.

In any case, knowing once and for all whether a person has an allergy or not, and what causes the allergy is the first step toward prevention. As they, prevention is better than cure.

(B) Food Allergies:
Discover the Culprits, Prevent the Symptoms

In today’s modern world, more than one-fourth of all adult Americans are convinced that some of the foods they bite into wind up biting them back with recurrent symptoms such as hives, skin rashes, diarrhea, and vomiting.

In fact, these are the most common telltale signs of allergies.

So, people who have food allergies make drastic changes in their diets. Aside from the inconvenience of avoiding foods that everyone else seems to enjoy with impunity, staying away from an otherwise nourishing food, such as milk or wheat, can deprive you of key vitamins or minerals.

However, there are instances that what people think are some kinds of allergies are in fact not allergies but food intolerance.

According to most health experts, true food allergies are quite rare, probably affecting less than 2% of the adult population.

There are some individuals who think that they have a food allergy wherein fact it is a food intolerance.

The problem with food intolerances is that they also produce some of the same uncomfortable symptoms that food allergies create, including bloating, cramping, gas, and diarrhea.

Therefore, it is important that the person knows if what he is experiencing are true food allergies. In addition, if a person has a bona fide food allergy, he must learn how to avoid the culprit.

Here is a list of the common culprits that cause food allergies in humans. These foods account for almost 90% of all food allergies.

1. People should shell out for peanuts

As a legume, the peanut can be a healthy addition to most diets. But it is among the most allergenic of all foods.

In people with severe allergies, just a fraction of a peanut kernel can be enough to set off a reaction. This also means avoid peanut butter!

2. Leave tree nuts alone

Walnuts and other tree nuts, like Brazil nuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, filberts, pecans etc., are among the most allergenic foods.

If a person is allergic to one true nut variety, there is chance that he is also allergic to others, but not necessarily to peanuts, which are legumes.

2. Be a crab about shellfish

Although shrimp gets much attention as an allergen, a broad class of shellfish can cause an allergic reaction.

This class includes other crustacean like lobsters, crabs, and prawns, and mollusks such as snails, mussels, oysters, scallops, clams, squid, and octopus.

3. Throw back the finfish

Compared with other major food allergens, the proteins in fish are more vulnerable to heat and other forms of preparation.

Therefore, some people allergic to fresh cooked fish can eat the canned version without difficulty.

There are instances that a person might be able to eat canned tuna, but have a problem with fresh grilled tuna, but he does not count on it.

Hence, in people with extreme severe fish allergies, even inhaling the vapors from cooking fish can set off a reaction.

Alternatively, reactions to toxins in fish are sometimes mistaken for fish allergies.

Scromboid poisoning from fish occurs when fish are contaminated with high levels of histamine, the primary irritant in classic allergic reactions.

4. Bypass milk

Most adverse reactions to milk are not allergies but rather lactose intolerance. That is, insufficient amounts of the digestive enzyme lactase lead to cramping, bloating, and other abdominal symptoms.

Most individuals with lactose intolerance can generally manage small amounts of milk.

However, in people with true milk allergy, any consumption of milk or milk-related proteins can be dangerous.

5. Review tofu

Tofu is made from soy, a major allergen in children. Some adults react, too.

6. Beat the wheat

If people notice that wheat products cause symptoms of an allergy, it is quite possible that the person is allergic to the grain. However, it is still better for a person to be sure and see a doctor.

Some people have celiac disease, a rare condition resulting from intolerance to gluten, which is present not only in wheat but also in rye, barley, and oats.

Therefore, it is important to take note of these common food allergies because one might never know that he or she is already allergic to one of these foods.

The bottom line is that people allergic to certain foods should avoid that food for life.

In adults, it is simply not reliable for a person to stop eating a food and hope that his allergy will not come back.

Once a person is allergic to a food, it is safest to assume that you are allergic to that food for the rest of your life.

CHAPTER 9. “Diagnosing Allergies”

TIRED OF FEELING TIRED? We know that life can get you down. Too much stress. Too much pressure. But it does NOT have to be that way!! Helene Malmsio has been a Nutritional Consultant for over a decade and has created a site that is devoted to helping you help yourself ... FREE! Come see our best health guide for free natural cures and home remedy allergy relief resources - all designed to help you feel better and BE healthier today! Help is just a click away at http://best-natural-cures-health-guide.com

===================================================================

SITE DISCLAIMER: The Natural Cures & Food nutrition facts Home remedy recipes health articles on this website are not intended to be a substitute for therapy or professional advice. The information on this website and in any e-book downloads is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this Natural Cures & Home remedy recipes health articles publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions or contrary interpretation of the self help books and personal development subject matter herein or for the content of any websites linking to it.....for full information please see our Website Disclaimer information page.

===================================================================