Monthly Archives: May 2022

How to Treat Winter Allergies

Allergies are a major problem in the winter when you expect to experience seasonal allergies to stop. That is going to leave you scratching your head and nose while your symptoms are not taking a nap this winter.

Indoor and outdoor allergies can cause problems in the cold months. If you are experiencing symptoms, you should be reading up more on when allergies are more common because it is not the entire year. There are times when you have to see an allergist because your symptoms are unmanageable.

This article looks at how winter allergies can be treated so that you will find out what to do in case you have winter allergies. Read on.

Humidifier

In order to reduce air dryness without turning your home into a rainforest. Dust mites are going to thrive in humidity that is above 60% and temperatures between 60% to 85%. Mold will also grow faster in high humidity. It is recommended that the maximum moisture should only be 50%.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines provide relief from a lot of symptoms of an allergic reaction. If you normally have a runny nose and your eyes are itchy, taking antihistamines can reduce their impact on your everyday life. Even if the medication is no cure for allergies, this treatment prevents the symptoms and gives relief.

Bathe Your Pets Once a Week

In order to keep dander at bay, bathe your pets once a week. This should not be done more often because it will dry their skin and coat. You should keep animals out of the bedroom if anyone is suffering from allergies.

Allergy Shots

For chronic and severe allergy symptoms, you must talk to your doctor about allergy shots. They work by exposing you to minimal amounts of allergens regularly to build up your body’s immune system to fight them off. This is going to lead to less severe symptoms over a couple of years.

No to Wall-to-Wall Carpeting

You should avoid wall-to-wall carpeting because it provides an environment for dust mites. It is better to use rugs and the upkeep of a wall-to-wall carpeted house is a lot more expensive than when you just use rugs.

Nasal Sprays

Prescription-strength steroid nasal sprays like fluticasone and triamcinolone is helpful in relieving inflammation and other symptoms such as a runny nose. They can now be bought over the counter.

Clean Your Furnace Filters

Keeping filters clean should lessen the amount of dust that comes from healing vents. A dehumidifier or HEPA filter can also improve the air quality in your home.

Eye Drops

Eye drops are a great option when your eyes start to get itchy or watery. Eye irritation is among the most common symptoms brought by winter allergies, and this can take its toll throughout the day. Using eye drops occasionally is enough to give you relief, but you must talk to an allergist if your problems continue.

Wipe Your Feet Clean

You should always clean your feet before you step from the outdoors into your home. This is going to ensure that mold, wet leaves, and other potential causes of winter allergy symptoms remain outside.

Nasal Irrigation Treatment

These treatments will work by sending distilled and clean water through your nasal passages to take out all the allergens. You should go to an allergy clinic to have this done because it requires a specialist.

These are the ways you can treat winter allergies. Keep in mind that you should be able to identify the symptoms before they get worse, which is why going to an allergy clinic Manassas VA is a good decision.

The Most Common Food Allergies

Food allergies are very common and it affects children and adults around the world. The percentage is rising regardless of which country you reside in. There have been more people consulting with an allergy doctor throughout the years.

Even if it is possible for allergies to be caused by any type of food, most of them are caused by some specific foods. Based on studies, these specific foods cause the majority of food reactions.

If you are curious to know what these foods are, this article is going to give you the information you need. Keep in mind that allergies can still develop even if you are already an adult so it is better to stay informed.

Milk

Having a milk allergy means that your body is reacting to milk proteins. This is something that you should not confuse with lactose intolerance. Milk allergies are one of the most common among young children. Even if it is highly nutritious, milk can cause rashes, stomach cramps, and swelling.

Milk is so difficult to avoid because it is an ingredient in butter, ice cream, yogurt, and more delicious food that contain milk.

That is bad news, but the good thing is that majority of children grow out of it.

Egg Allergy

The second most common food allergy in children is egg allergy. The good thing is that 68% of children with an allergy will outgrow it when they hit 16 years old.

Children can be allergic to egg whites, but not the yolks, and it can be vice versa. That is because egg proteins and egg yolks slightly differ.

Most of the proteins that trigger an allergy are in egg whites, so an egg white allergy is common.

The best way to treat an egg allergy is to be on an egg-free diet. You might not have to avoid all kinds of food-related to eggs because heating eggs shifts the allergy-causing proteins. This will stop your body from seeing them as harmful.

Peanuts

Regardless of where you look, you will discover that peanut allergies are found everywhere. Peanut allergies are one of the most common and fatal food allergies in children, causing anaphylaxis more than the other foods. For some people, even very minimal contact with peanuts can cause a reaction.

Since traces of peanuts are found in a lot of foods, you should always read labels and be aware of everything you eat.

Shellfish

A shellfish allergy happens when your body attacks the proteins from the mollusk fish families and crustaceans known as shellfish. Some examples of shellfish are prawns, shrimp, lobster, crayfish, scallops, and squid.

The most common seafood allergy trigger is tropomyosin protein. Other proteins can play a role in triggering an immune response such as parvalbumin and kinase.

Some shellfish allergy symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, digestive issues, and stomach pain.

Wheat

Wheat originated from the baker’s counter grain, and it is found everywhere. However, for those who have wheat allergies, this can be an issue.

You should not confuse this with celiac disease, and it is a non-life-threatening autoimmune disorder. Wheat allergies happen when the body reacts to any of the proteins found in wheat.

White blood cells consider wheat an enemy and they attack it. While doing that, the body shows symptoms, including abdominal pain, nausea, itching, shortness of breath, swelling lips and tongue, or anaphylaxis.

While a lot of people outgrow a wheat allergy when they become adults, some have it for life. The only to treat it is a wheat-free diet.

You can visit an allergy clinic Germantown MD anytime to have yourself checked for allergies.

The Importance of Accurate Pollen Count

If you have sniffles and watery eyes because of seasonal allergies, you might be thinking about the pollen count, the graphics you see on the internet, and how the information helps you. People can see the daily pollen count on the news, in reports, or in the newspaper. These reports give people how much pollen is in the air. The tree pollen level, weed pollen, and grass pollen are often reported as “low”, “medium”, or “high.” On occasions, these are reports that provide more details on the kinds of trees and weed pollens present.

You might have to go see an allergy specialist before the season starts, so you can best manage it this time. Find out more about why the pollen count matters.

What Does Pollen Count Mean?

Pollen count refers to the measure of the number of pollen grains that is present in a cubic meter. It is normally recorded that day, so the pollen count forecasts will most likely reflect the daytime figures as well.

Oftentimes, they use the rotarod technique to measure the pollen grains. This involves the greased silicone rods to collect air particles, which is usually over 24 hours. Some devices can measure pollen counts over several days.

If the pollen count is 50 or less, that is low, while if it is 1,000 or more, that is high.

How Does Pollen Count Work?

It is important to understand the way pollen counts are gathered. Most of the pollen counters are positioned on top of buildings, where air samples are collected through different methods. The pollen present in the air lands on some kind of surface, like a glass microscope slide and they use petroleum jelly to coat it. A person who is trained to identify pollen uses a microscope to examine the slide, and they count the different types of pollen. Calculations will be done, which is estimates the amount of pollen in the air, according to how much pollen is collected on the slide over a certain period. Pollen level (low, medium, or high) reports are based on the pollen averages that were collected through the years.

Seeking Treatment

Even when you are trying to stay away from the outdoors when the pollen count is high, your allergies remain uncontrolled and an antihistamine only gives you temporary relief. If you want to manage your allergies better, you should contact a professional allergist for treatment and diagnosis. Allergy shots and drops are successful ways of treating and managing patients to eliminate their symptoms.

What You Must do if the Pollen Count is High

The best thing is to just stay indoors if your allergies are severe and the pollen count outside is high. If you have to be outside, you must follow these steps:

If you have to be outside, wear an allergy mask
You should keep the windows closed inside your home and car
Run the air conditioning in your car and home
After you come from outdoors, take a shower and change your clothes right away. You should shampoo your hair and wash off all the pollen
Wipe off your pets if they came from outdoors. They might carry pollen on their fur
Wear a hat and sunglasses to make sure pollen stays out of your hair and eyes

Time of Day Matters

Normally, the pollen count in the morning is high and it peaks by early afternoon or midday. After that, the pollen count will gradually fall. That means pollen count is normally low before dawn, late afternoon, or early evening.

Contact allergy center Manassas VA if you need to consult.