If you are living with allergy you need to be cautious of how you live your life. To guide you here are dos and don’ts:

Dos when living with allergy

Take your medications: If you suffer from seasonal allergies, always take antihistamines before the season starts. The medications are known to cause drowsiness; therefore, take them before you go to bed to avoid getting drowsy during the day.

Change air filters: Most homes have air filters that trap pollen, mold and dust. It’s recommended that you replace the filters once every month. Even if you do it, ensure that you change them before a new season begins. To protect yourself efficiently, install HEPA filters.

Avoid triggers: Regardless of whether you are taking medications or not you should avoid pollen, dust, food, or any other factors that cause your allergies to flare up or worsen. Here are some of the things that you can do to protect yourself:

• Avoid pets
• Stay indoors and close windows when pollen levels are high
• Cover your beddings with allergy proof coverings. This is to trap dust mites

Make use of technology: With the coming of applications you can now use technology to your advantage. If you are allergic to pollen download an allergy app onto your phone or tablet. The app will let you know when pollen levels are high and when you are safe to move outdoors.

Eat right: A weak body is affected by even the smallest infection. To ensure that you have a strong body and immune system, eat the right foods. Some of the best foods to eat are those containing omega-3-fatty acids. The fatty acids reduce allergy symptoms and also reduce inflammation. You can get these nutrients from shellfish and fatty fish

Don’ts when living with allergy

Stress yourself: According to allergy doctors, stress raises cytokine levels. Cytokine is a protein that is produced as part of the body’s response to allergy. Due to production of the protein, you have heightened allergy symptoms thus worsening your condition.

Drinking alcohol: While alcohol will give a buzz, it’s unhealthy to you. It’s more harmful if you are taking your antihistamine medications. According to professionals, taking alcohol with your medications puts you at the risk of having double sedation effect.

Parting shot

These are dos and don’ts that you should observe when suffering with allergy. Before you take any allergy treatment, get the advice of a certified allergist.

It’s estimated that food allergy affects up to 10% of the world’s population. While over 170 foods have been found to be allergenic, only a small fraction of these foods are responsible for majority of allergies. Peanut, soy, tree nut, shellfish, wheat, fish, cow’s milk and eggs are the most common causes of allergy.

Allergy to wheat, soy, and eggs has been found to be more prevalent in children while tree nut, fish and peanut allergy has been found to affect all people in different stages of life. Certain foods are likely to cause more severe reactions than others. Tree nuts and peanuts have been voted to cause the severest and most fatal reactions.

Predisposing factors for food allergies

While anyone can be allergic to certain foods, there are some factors that put you at great risk of developing the reactions. The risk factors include: Family history of atopy, atopic dermatitis and asthma.

Signs that you might be allergic to food

The signs of food intolerance vary depending on the type of reaction. If the allergy is IgE-mediated, the symptoms involve the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system, skin and respiratory tract. Respiratory symptoms include: rhinorrhea, congestion, wheezing, sneezing and laryngeal edema. When it comes to the gastrointestinal tract, you can have vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain.

Diagnosis of food allergy

If you are having any of the above symptoms it’s recommended that you visit an allergy doctor who will diagnose the condition. Diagnosis of the condition is based on allergen-specific IgE, SPT, suggestive history and/or food challenge. The doctor will analyze your condition and find out the best form of diagnosis for your condition. In addition to the doctor diagnosing the condition, he/she will also help you tabulate the results and give you the best form of treatment.

Treatment of food intolerance

Contrary to popular believe, there isn’t an approved treatment for food intolerance. One of the best ways of avoiding the reaction is avoiding the foods that provoke the condition. During diagnosis, the doctor will help you identify the foods that you are allergic to. To avoid complications, you should avoid the foods.

Another way of treating the condition is undergoing sublingual immunotherapy and oral immunotherapy. These are methods that a doctor can use to induce tolerance. The two methods are different in that oral immunotherapy is ingested while in sublingual innumotherapy, the allergen extract is placed under the tongue. To have a great experience visit a reputable allergy clinic.

Allergies are caused by five main factors: Pollen, dust mites, air pollution, ragweed, and pet dander. If you suffer from allergy you understand the discomfort that comes with it. For you to be comfortable you have to get rid of the factors causing allergy. If struggling with the condition there are a number of natural ways that you can use to get rid of it. Some of these ways include:

Close doors and window to shut out allergy provoking factors

Visit any allergy doctor and he/she will tell you that for you to stop allergy causing factors from getting into your house you need to keep your windows and doors closed at all times. In addition to closing the entry points, also install air filters in your air conditioning and furnace systems. By installing an air filter you remove 90% to 95% of pollen and other allergy provoking particles.

Take probiotics

Studies done by the Osaka university school of medicine show that  probiotic strains: Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactorbacili casei, Bifidobacterium longum and L. acidophilus are effective in the treatment of sinus and nasal symptoms that are linked to allergies. The studies recommend that you supplement your diet with high-quality probiotic that you should take on an empty stomach.

Wear a mask to minimize exposure to allergens

By wearing a mask you prevent allergens from getting into your nose and mouth. Wear a mask whenever you believe that you are being exposed to the allergens. This includes when you are vacuuming, raking or mowing. By wearing an N95 respirator mask you block up to 95% of small particles such as pollen and dust.

Stop allergies by eliminating sugars

Sugars have been shown to be highly acid and mucus forming thus aggravating the symptoms of allergy. If you are serious of stopping allergies, eliminate sugar from your diet.

When it comes to your diet, take a balanced diet. As rule of thumb eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and nuts. Some of the best fruits to take are oranges, tomatoes, grapes and apples. By eating a balanced diet you build a strong immune system thus you are able to resist the effects of the pollen and other allergy provoking particles.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the natural ways that you can use to defeat nasal allergy or any other allergy that you might be having. If you have tried fighting the condition and still you are getting the symptoms, visit an allergist.