Tag Archives: allergist specialist

What Are The Symptoms Of Tree Pollen Allergies?

According to an allergist specialist, tree pollen allergies are one of the most popular allergies in spring. Like grass and weed pollen, tree pollens travel on the wind, so the allergies might be due to trees miles away.

Hundreds of trees release pollen that can trigger allergic reactions. These trees include: Cedar, oak, elm, olive, maple, cottonwood, hickory, box elder, walnut, cypress, pecan, mulberry, etc.

What are the symptoms of tree pollen allergies?

When you are exposed to tree pollen, you can show a wide range of symptoms that include:

  • Watery eyes
  • Watery, runny nose
  • Sneezing
  • Nasal congestion
  • Headaches
  • Itchy eyes
  • Reduced sense of smell
  • Tiredness
  • Disrupted sleep
  • Irritability
  • Earache

Tree pollen allergies and asthma

Exposure to pollen has also been shown to increase the risk of an asthmatic attack. For those who have asthma, the release of histamine when exposed to pollen increases the asthma symptoms.

If you have asthma, always ensure that you have the asthma medication at all times during the high pollen seasons.

Besides taking the asthma medications, ensure that you take hay fever medication, including anti-inflammatory eye drops, nasal steroids, and antihistamines to ease the symptoms.

What can worsen the tree allergy symptoms?

Although tree pollen allergies are dangerous if you suffer from allergies, some factors worsen the allergies. These factors include:

Wind

Wind worsens the allergy symptoms as it picks up the dry pollen and sends it into the air. When it’s cold, damp, or rainy, the pollen counts are usually lower, but the pollen count goes up when it gets windy, which significantly worsens your situation.

Having trigger trees in your yard

Although the wind can carry the tree pollen from miles away, having the trigger trees close to your home can significantly worsen your situation. When you have oak, maple, cypress, and other allergy trigger trees in your yard, you are 10 times more likely to suffer from tree pollen allergies than if you had no trees close to your home.

If you have noticed a trend of suffering from allergies every time you are close to spring, consider replacing the allergy-causing trees with those less likely to cause allergies. These include: pine, dogwood, apple, fir, and cherry.

Certain fruits and vegetables

Studies show that if you are allergic to certain trees, you have a high risk of developing allergic reactions from cross-reactive foods. For example, if you are allergic to birch trees, you can develop some swelling or itchiness in your mouth or around your face when eating carrots, cherries, almonds, kiwi, plums, hazelnuts, coriander, and fennel.

If you have noticed that you develop allergies when eating certain fruits, talk to your allergy doctor and have them test you for tree pollen allergies.

How do you manage tree pollen allergy?

The best way to manage the allergies is to stay away from the triggers. This calls for you to stay away from the triggering trees. Some of the excellent tricks to avoid allergies include:

Staying indoors on dry, windy days

Instead of doing the gardening work on your own, hire someone to do it for you. If you don’t have money to hire someone, avoid gardening during the peak pollen season.

When you are in the house, keep the windows and doors closed at all times. This is to ensure that no pollen gets into the house, even if it’s windy.

If you have tried the preventative measures and still develop the symptoms, find an allergy doctor Germantown MD to give you some medication to ease the symptoms. The doctor will undertake a series of tests and recommend the best prescription for your condition.

What Should An Asthma Patient Avoid?

Do you suffer from asthma and wondering what should an asthma patient avoid? Well, to avoid having to visit your asthma doctor now and then for treatment, there are several things you should avoid. These things include:

Dust

Unless you live in rural areas where there is dirt everywhere, you should strive to stay away from dirt as much as possible. And you should start with your home.

At least once a week, give your house a thorough cleaning. You should clean every corner of the house, including the corners of the house and beddings.

Pollen

It’s not a coincidence that asthma and allergy symptoms increase when there is a high pollen count in the atmosphere.

To protect yourself, stay away from flower and tree pollen. This calls for you to avoid going outdoor during the day when the pollen count is high. If you have pollinating plants and trees in the house, get them outside.

Even if your indoor plants don’t have pollen, you should take good care of them so that they don’t form mold. This calls for you to avoid overwatering the plants. You also should keep them in a sunny area and remove as many dead plants as possible.

Pets

Pets are soothing and comforting. Unfortunately, they can be harmful to asthmatics. The reason for this is because the small fur pieces, hair particles, saliva, and skin are known to trigger asthma.

As an animal lover, it can be difficult to stay away from your dog or cat but to reduce your asthma severity, you have to keep a distance. You can give the pet to a friend or take them to a shelter. It will be difficult, but you have to do it for your health.

Wine

A glass of wine is said to be good for a healthy heart, but it can be harmful to those who have asthma. Whether it’s red, white, black, pink, or purple, wine will cause more harm than good so stay away from it.

Any type of wine is harmful because it contains sulfites, a type of preservative you find in various foods and beverages. These sulfites are known to cause asthma, so you are better off staying away from them.

Getting worked up

We are emotional beings, and it can be hard to tell someone not to be angry, frightened, or anxious, but as an asthmatic, you have no way out, other than to try to control your emotions as much as you can.

You should restrain yourself from getting worked up because by doing so, you alter your breathing, which significantly contributes to an asthmatic attack.

Smoke and kitchen aromas

These two are serious irritants to people living with asthma, so you should avoid them. An ideal situation is to stay out of the kitchen, but if you can’t, ensure the kitchen is properly ventilated.

If you don’t have the money to install a chimney or exhaust fan, install a large window that will allow the kitchen smells to escape outside.

Asthma triggering foods

Did you know there are some foods that can trigger your allergies? The common ones are eggs, soy, milk, peanuts, shrimp, fish, and others. Allergist specialist Manassas VA also report that food preservatives such as potassium bisulfate, sodium bisulfate, potassium metabisulfite and sodium sulfite can also trigger asthma.

Cold

You should stay away from the cold weather and the normal common cold. This calls for you to stay indoors during the cold season. You also should stay away from people suffering from a cold or flu. When you come into contact with anyone with flu or cold-like symptoms, wash your hands as soon as possible.

4 Questions about Allergies to Ask Your Allergy Doctor

If your doctor has just told you that you are suffering from an allergy, it’s common to have plenty of questions, and you have every right to ask them so you can understand your condition better.

The best person to ask questions about allergies is an allergist specialist and when asking the questions, ask those that will shed more light on your condition.

Wondering which are the best questions to ask? Here they are:

Can allergies be cured?

If you have lived your entire life without medical issues, then one day, an allergy doctor drops the bombshell that your body is reacting to allergens, the first thing you want to know is whether you can be cured of the condition.

The unfortunate thing is that you can’t cure allergies, but you can treat and control the symptoms. One of the most effective ways to control the symptoms is staying away from the allergy triggers. For example, if you are allergic to pollen, you should avoid going outside when the pollen count is high.

You can also control the symptoms by taking the necessary medication. You simply need to visit your local allergy doctor, and they will recommend the best drug for your condition.

How do you know you are suffering from allergies and not a cold?

Both the common cold and seasonal allergies have almost identical symptoms, so it’s common to be confused whether you are suffering from a cold or allergies when the symptoms kick in.

The cool thing is that it’s easy to tell them apart when you are keen enough. Some of the things you should do include:

Pay attention to the patterns: While both conditions can cause congestion, runny nose, sneezing, fatigue, headaches, and watery eyes, cold symptoms don’t have a pattern to how they develop. Allergic reactions, on the other hand, happen all at once.

Allergies aren’t contagious, so if all the symptoms come about at once and no other person in your family develops similar symptoms, you are most likely suffering from allergies.

Be on the lookout for the timing: How long does the condition last? Cold symptoms go away after 7-10 days, while allergies don’t have a set lifespan. They often go on as long as you are exposed to the allergen. The symptoms might ease when you get away from the allergy trigger, but they won’t go away.

Check your handkerchief: The act is gross, but the mucus will tell you everything you need to know. If having a cold, you will have a yellowish nasal discharge which shows you are suffering from an infection. Allergic reactions, on the other hand, result in a clear, thin, watery gunk.

Are allergic reactions dangerous?

Allergy is mild or moderate for most people, but in rare situations, the allergic reaction can be life-threatening. The most dangerous condition you can have is anaphylaxis that causes extreme swelling in the lungs and airways, making it hard to breathe and swallow.

The reaction also causes cramps, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, and mental confusion. When you are having anaphylaxis, you should get immediate medical attention to avoid losing your life.

Are there natural remedies to control allergies?

People have been taking honey and pollen for years to cure allergies, but there is no scientific evidence to support that natural remedies work.

Even if the remedies might work for some people, they might not work for you. To be safe and have peace of mind you are taking the right medication, find allergy doctor Manassas VA to advise you on the right medication to take. Remember, when consulting the doctor, ensure the doctor is certified and experienced enough.