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How to Manage Pet Allergies

For a lot of people, their dogs, cats, and other animals are members of the family. From cuddling to watching pets offer companionship to people who care for them. However, when you have a furry friend, asthma and allergies can be a less-than-perfect partnership. Three out of ten people with allergies are reactive to cats and dogs.

An allergy specialist sees this a lot in their patients, which is why they should know their triggers and how to manage symptoms when they happen. A lot of people think that fur causes allergies. The reality is that proteins in dander or dead skin cells collect animal hair. If you want to learn more, read on.

Understand Pet Allergies

You need to see a doctor and get tested to determine what allergies you have. You could find out that you are allergic to something else and not really your pet. For instance, you might assume that you are allergic to your dog, only to discover that you are allergic to tree pollen that goes on his fur while walking outside.

If the test shows that you are allergic to your pet, you should understand what causes your allergic reaction. There are proteins that trigger allergies known as allergens in skin glands and saliva that cling to the dry skin of animals and fur. The fur and dander will then stick to carpets, clothing, and walls.

Clean Your Rugs Once a Week

If you want to reduce how much dander is in your home, you should focus on spots that are magnets for it, such as carpets and rugs. You should make sure to vacuum carpets once weekly with a device that uses HEPA filter. They suck up small bits of matter, like pet dander, that other vacuums could miss. Your rugs should be washed once a week.

Pet dander can stick to hard surfaces like floors and walls, so make sure to clean them regularly based on proper care instructions for any materials.

Use an Allergy-capturing Filter

When you regularly change it every 3 months, they are going to capture the invisible and visible dander and other allergens, which effectively vacuum air that flows through your filter. You will get the benefits of allergen defense, and the best dust-holding power of any filter. Improve indoor quality by capturing allergens and holding 2X more dust because a cleaner, fresher home is happy.

Do Not Allow Pets in Your Bedroom

People spend half of their time in the bedroom, which is why you should never allow your pet to sleep in bed with you. Make sure to limit the access of your pets to the bedroom by keeping your bedroom door closed all the time. Regularly wash your bedding and consider an allergen-free mattress cover that fits on your box spring and mattress.

Bathe Your Pet Every Week

When you do this, you are reducing the allergy-causing dander you have. Cats can become used to bathing, but it is important to only use products that are for cats; kittens might need kitten shampoo. Ask your veterinary staff or a good book on pet care for directions when it comes to safe bathing. It would be good to use a shampoo that is recommended by your veterinarian or animal care specialist.

Consider Your Environment

If you are already allergic to dust mites, mold, pollen, or cigarette smoke, your allergies have most likely kicked in. This will make you extra sensitive when you add a pet.

You can try an allergist specialist Germantown MD anytime you need to address pet allergies.

Signs of Dust Mite Allergy

Dust mite allergy is caused by an allergic reaction to small bugs that live in the dust. The signs of dust mite allergy can include the ones that are common to hay fever, like runny nose and sneezing. A lot of people with dust mite allergy can also experience symptoms of asthma like sneezing, and difficulty in breathing.

When you take steps to lessen the dust mites in your home, you can have better control of dust mite allergy. Medications and other treatments can sometimes be necessary to relieve symptoms and control asthma.

It would be good to know the signs of dust mites before going to an allergy clinic because you can easily tell the doctor what you experienced.

What Causes Dust Mite Allergies

An allergy is the response of the immune system to an unknown substance that is not normally harmful to the body. These substances are known as allergens. They can include specific foods, dust mites, and pollens. People who have dust mite allergies have a bad reaction to the bug remnants. These remnants can include small amounts of decaying bodies and feces.

Your household might be clean, but it will not take a lot to create an environment that is perfect for dust mites.

Symptoms

Symptoms of dust mites caused by nasal passages inflammation include:

  • Running nose
  • Sneezing
  • Watery eyes
  • Itchy nose and/or throat
  • Postnasal drip
  • Nasal congestion
  • Cough
  • Pain and facial pressure
  • Blue-colored skin under the eyes
  • Frequent rubbing of the nose in a child

If the allergy adds to your asthma, you can also experience the following:

  • Chest pain or tightness
  • Breathing difficulty
  • Wheezing or whistling sound while exhaling
  • Trouble sleeping because of shortness of breath, wheezing or coughing
  • Coughing or wheezing gets worse because of respiratory illnesses or viruses like the flu or cold

Dust mite allergy could range from mild to severe. A mild dust mite allergy could cause a runny nose from time to time, watery eyes, and even sneezing. In most cases, the condition might be ongoing, which causes persistent coughing, sneezing, congestion, eczema, facial pressure, or asthma attack.

Diagnosing Allergies of Dust Mites

You should talk to an allergist if you feel that your symptoms are worse at home, especially when you clean or when you lie down in bed. The allergist can diagnose and treat allergies.

The allergist is going to use diagnostic tests in order to determine if you are allergic to dust mites. The most common kind of test is a skin-prick test. In this test, the allergist is going to choose an area of the skin with a small allergen extract. The allergist will wait 15 minutes to check if the skin has a negative reaction. In case you have a reaction, you are going to develop a big bump around the skin’s pricked area. The area can also become itchy and red.

Treatment

  • Antihistamines help relieve runny nose, itching, and sneezing
  • Nasal corticosteroids reduce inflammation with some side effects compared to their oral counterparts
  • Decongestants can make tissues smaller in nasal passages, so you can breathe easily
  • Medications that combine antihistamines and decongestant
How Long Does it Last?

When dust mite allergens no longer surround you, the symptoms you have will normally go away after a couple of hours. If your dust mite allergies are severe, you might have symptoms for a couple of days. This can be uncomfortable and can even disrupt sleep if you do not take anything for treatment.

You can go to an allergy center Manassas VA anytime if you need to seek treatment for your dust mite allergy.

Signs You are Allergic to Your Pet

Pet allergy is your body’s reaction to proteins that are found in the skin cells of animals, urine, or saliva. The common signs of a pet allergy are sneezing hay fever and runny nose. Some people can experience symptoms of asthma, like breathing difficulty and wheezing.

According to an allergy clinic, pet allergy is activated by being exposed to dead skin flakes that the pet sheds. Any furry animal can become a pet allergy source, but pet allergies are normally linked to cats and dogs.

In case you are allergic to pets, the most effective strategy is to stay away from any animal exposure. Other treatments of medications might be important in relieving symptoms and managing asthma.

Causes

Allergies to animals are common, especially in individuals who have asthma or additional allergies. The truth is, that a significant percentage of people are allergic to pets, and cat allergies occur twice as often.

In case you suffer from a pet allergy, which does not always mean that you are allergic to the dog or cat. Aggravation or allergic reactions to asthma symptoms results from substance exposure that is found in pets, which includes saliva, urine, flaked skin, and dander. Aside from that, furry pets can become virtual dust mops, while bringing in allergens such as mold spores, dust, and pollen coming from outside. Pet hair is not an allergen, but it carries substances that cause allergic reactions.

Symptoms

Dog, cat and other allergens could land on the membranes, which line the eyes and nose. You can breathe pet allergens in your airways. Symptoms of an animal allergy include:

  • Stuffy nose
  • Itching and swelling of eyes and nose
  • Sneezing
  • Postnasal drip
  • Runny nose
  • Eye redness
  • Hives
  • Coughing
  • Sleep disruption, itchiness, fatigue, or irritability in the roof of the mouth and throat

You can get itchy eyes after petting an animal and touch your eyes after.  A pet scratch or lick on your skin causes redness and itchiness in the area. You could get hives. Pet allergy may trigger an asthma attack in case you have asthma as well.

Those who have pet allergens have different sensitivity levels. Some experience minor symptoms and other people have severe symptoms. In case there are low allergen levels, symptoms might not show up until after a couple of days after interacting with your pet.

Dogs and Cats

Allergens that come from cats and dogs are in the skin cells the animal is shedding, and in the saliva, sweat, and urine on their fur. Dander is mainly a problem because it is small and it remains airborne for longer periods of time with very little air circulation. It also gets easily collected in upholstered furniture and it will stick to your clothes.

Pet saliva sticks to bedding, carpets, clothing, and furniture. Dried saliva can become airborne.

Hypoallergenic dogs and cats might shed less fur compared to the shedding types, but a completely hypoallergenic breed does not exist.

When Should You See an Allergist

If you have any of the symptoms, you might not want to think that it is your pet that is causing you discomfort. Most of the time, the best treatment is to avoid any contact with dogs and cats. For a lot of animal lovers though, pets are treated like a part of the family.

Regardless if you have mild symptoms, it would be good to schedule an appointment with an allergist. Your allergies can worsen with time. Therefore, you should get treatment early to prevent any complications.

You should talk to an allergy center Manassas VA anytime so that you can get treatment early.

What are the Types of Pollen Allergies

Hay fever comes from discomfort for people of any age. However, you can minimize the effect of pollen allergy with effective allergy treatment. When you develop a treatment plan, among the primary steps an allergist takes is to find out what the exact allergy trigger or triggers are. This process starts with the understanding of different kinds of pollen allergies.

During spring, summer, fall, and winter, plants release tiny pollens to fertilize other plants that come from the same species. The majority of the pollen that causes allergic reaction comes from grasses, trees, and weeds. These plants make light, small, and dry pollen grains that are transported by the wind. These pollens can go inside your nose, ears, and lungs that cause allergy symptoms if you are allergic to pollen.

Grass Pollen

The most common culprit of hay fever is grass pollen, and it normally lasts from late spring until summer. In reality, there are different factors that could see grass pollen being there from March to October. The common signs of grass pollen allergies include watery eyes, runny nose, itchy nose, and other symptoms. The cause of allergies requires that an allergy doctor performs testing if you suffer from grass pollen allergy. Some grass types you should be aware of are timothy, Bermuda, sweet vernal, and orchard.

Ragweed Pollen Allergy

Ragweed plants are popular for being an allergen and they are most active between autumn and late spring.

Aside from ragweed, tumbleweed, and sagebrush, they are also common allergens of weed pollen.

Tree Pollen

Even if it is less common than grass pollen, tree pollen comes in the earlier part of the year. People who have hay fever normally start to experience symptoms in the spring – symptoms can continue the entire summer. Normally, peak periods fall from March to May when maple, oak, birch, and elm tree pollen are most common. When you have a diagnosis of the allergy, you can start to see how the different kinds of tree pollen are going to impact your allergies, and then you can take precautions to limit exposure to tree pollen.

Birch Pollen

Birch trees bloom during spring. Which is the reason why birch pollen is among the major causes of pollen allergies in spring. A single birch tree produces up to 5 million pollen grains that get dispersed into the air.

Aside from birch, allergies from tree pollen are caused by oak and cedar trees as well.

Treatment

Home remedies, medical treatments, and changes in lifestyle help ease pollen allergy symptoms.

Treatment options available:

  • Antihistamine medications are over-the-counter, like loratadine or cetirizine. A person should begin to take these medications a couple of weeks before the start of allergy season.
  • Immunotherapy tablets or shots in order to desensitize the body to pollen.
  • Nasal corticosteroid sprays are effective when it comes to reducing inflammation and its symptoms associated with it.
  • Nasal sprays are designed to relieve congestion and itching. These cover decongestants, which are just a short-term solution for swelling.

The majority of treatments can only help manage the symptoms or allergy, but will not cure them. immunotherapy can be helpful for managing long-term allergies but it takes a couple of years to complete.

How Long They Last

It will depend on the kind of pollen that triggers your allergies:

  • Tree pollen – March until mid-May
  • Grass pollen – Mid-may to mid-July
  • Weed pollen – Mid-August to November

Your location will impact this. The weather also has an effect on pollen levels, which delays or extends how long the allergies last in a year.

You can visit an allergy clinic Germantown MD to manage your symptoms

How Allergies Affect Children

Parents do not want to see their kids suffer. Any child can develop allergies, which is going to improve the life of your child and lessen the school days they missed. It also helps to keep you from having to use sick days or vacation days to take care of your child.

One of the most common allergies that children experience is on the skin. Another common allergy in children is food. Respiratory allergies are most common in older children.

Cases of skin and food allergies among children have increased over a long period, and skin allergies are prevalent in younger children compared to older ones.

You can look for an allergy doctor for your child so you can concentrate on other things more.

Nasal Congestion

Allergies are one of the most common causes of nasal congestion that happens chronically. There are times when the nose of a child is congested when he or she breathes through the mouth, even more so while sleeping. This might also cause a child to not get some rest at night and then feel tired the next day. In case the congestion and mouth-breathing are always untreated. They can affect teeth and bone growth. The early allergy treatment that causes nasal congestion might prevent these problems.

Heat Rash

Heat rash is most often seen in young children and babies when their sweat gland pores get blocked, not allowing perspiration to escape. The rash will look like small pink patches or red bumps, or blisters under spots or clothing where the skin has the tendency to fold on your elbows, neck, thighs, or armpits. However, heat rash can also happen in covered areas.

Eczema

Eczema is one of the most common skin allergy conditions, especially when it comes to children. It affects 1 out of 5 infants, but only about 50 adults. This is because of leakiness in the skin barrier, which dries it out and becomes prone to inflammation and irritation by a lot of environmental factors. Also, there are young children with eczema who are also sensitive to food which make eczema symptoms worse. Half of the patients who have severe atopic dermatitis are caused by a faulty gene called filaggrin. The itch caused by eczema is not only because of histamine so anti-histamines might not be able to manage the symptoms. Most of the time, eczema is normally linked with allergic rhinitis, asthma, or food allergy. This progression is known as the atopic march.

Hives

Hives show as red bumps or welts soon after they come in contact with an allergen and severe allergic reaction. Unlike skin allergies, hives are not dry or scaly and it can appear anywhere on the body.

Some symptoms include difficulty in breathing or a swollen face and mouth. You should look for medical attention right away if these symptoms occur with hives.

Ear Infection

Allergies cause inflammation in the ear and it can cause fluid accumulation that promotes ear infections and decreased hearing. A baby who is hard of hearing for any reason while you are learning to talk will cause poor speech. Allergies cause earaches and itching, fullness, and popping. Anyone who has these symptoms should see an allergy specialist for possible treatment and testing.

Stings and Insect Bites

Insects like wasps, bees, fire ants, mosquitos, and ticks cause itching minor and minor discomfort because they prick the skin. In some children, insect bites and stings cause severe allergic reactions known as anaphylaxis which includes rashes and life-threatening symptoms known as airway swelling.

You can find allergy doctor Manassas VA if your child is experiencing any of these symptoms.

 

 

Why You Should Consult an Allergist

If you have a stuffy nose and your eyes begin to itch every spring, you can benefit from an allergist-immunologist. However, those symptoms are not the only ones that can send you to an allergist. They are trained to treat and diagnose conditions that affect the immune system. Most of the time, these doctors are only referred to as allergists. What you do not know is that they help you with more than just allergies. They help you care for more conditions involving your immune system.

Your immune system is going to shield your body against illnesses and germs. It will help you fight off infection and prevent harmful viruses and bacteria from invading your body. Sometimes, the immune system will attack healthy cells.

Read on to find out more.

Convenient

The allergists can be the best solution to get access to the healthcare you need right now. You can just walk in anytime if it is an emergency, and you will receive treatment right away without getting exposed for a long time. You can also book an appointment online before going if it can wait. This is going to save you time and energy.

Proper Treatment Plan

You have a lot of DIY options you can dispose of to get rid of allergy symptoms. However, in case they are consistent and important to the quality of your life, you might need medical intervention. They can prescribe the right medication or even undergo surgery so your nasal passages can open up.

In case You Have Asthma

Asthma will cause your airway muscles to tighten or experience spasms, and the linings of your lungs can get inflamed. This will block airflow, which makes it difficult to breathe. Asthma ranges from life-threatening to mild. You might feel tightness in your chest and you will struggle to catch your breath. You might also experience coughing and wheezing.

Talking to an allergist-immunologist helps get your asthma under control, which means your flares will be a lot fewer. The doctor will prescribe medication in order to treat specific symptoms. They can also help you know more about common triggers like mold, smoke, pet dander, and dust mites, as well as how to avoid them.

They Will Test Your Allergy

The top allergy clinic will test you for allergies. After the initial exam and taking your history, you will want to make sure that your allergy problem is given in detail. This confirmation is possible through tests. Some FDA-approved tests will include skin and blood testing.

Medical Service is High-Quality

Allergy clinics provide accurate allergy assessments and the best pharmacists. They have experienced healthcare providers that can deliver a comprehensive program for your treatment that is tailored to individual requirements.

Great for Future Planning

When you know which substances trigger your allergies, they can be avoided in the future. This could mean anything from avoiding air with heavy pollen outdoors to taking an EpiPen if you accidentally eat tree nuts. An allergist is an important addition to your medical team. You can keep the contact number of the allergist in your area so you know who to contact when you have bad symptoms.

Safe Prevention of Allergic Reactions

Knowing your allergy trigger is the primary step of prevention. If you are aware that you have a nut allergy, you will avoid foods with nuts. It is the same case for people who are allergic to dust, mold, spores, and anything else you can stay away from.

You can visit an allergy center Manassas VA to get the best treatment for your allergies.

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.

What You Must Know About Stress-Induced Asthma

If you are suffering from Asthma, you must know that it is a frightening feeling when you are unable to breathe. Some people’s anxiety and asthma go together. Most of the time, it is hard to unravel the connections between them. However, stress can also cause anxiety, but this article will talk about how stress and asthma symptoms go together.

When stress levels begin to go up, regardless of the reason, asthma symptoms can go overdrive. While the coughing and wheezing get bad, your health is one of the reasons why you should worry. Anxiety, stress, and asthma have a vicious cycle, and everything can quickly turn downwards. When this happens, contact your asthma doctor right away.

By reading this article until the end, you will learn more about this now.

Asthma – What is it?

Asthma is having shortness of breath and breathing difficulty because of inflamed airways. Asthma affects millions of people and it is one of the most chronic conditions that children have.

A lot of factors affect asthma, which includes genetics, allergies, and the environment. Your doctor will help you identify your triggers and learn how to master these irritants, calm them, or avoid them.

You need to understand the triggers because the triggers vary from one person to another.

Almost half of those with asthma have allergies, and you can control both conditions when you are aware.

How to Find Out if Stress Triggers Your Asthma Symptoms

The primary step is to know that you are stressed; sometimes people are unable to recognize these signs. Stress makes you feel irritable, more worried than you usually are, restless, teary, or have a hard time making decisions.

The second one is that stress levels can worsen your asthma even if sometimes you do not feel their connection.

You should write down when you are stressed and if it triggers your asthma symptoms. Keep a diary and write down why and when you are stressed together with the symptoms.

You are going to see patterns. For instance, maybe you have more asthma symptoms when you were moving, or your exams were coming up.

Managing Stress with Asthma

Stress is part of life – with or without it. Therefore, it is important to find the best ways to manage stress if you are suffering from a disorder. You need to relax before the stress happens so you can prevent shortness of breath and avoid an attack.

Change what is in your thoughts – You need to change your thought patterns that lead to stress. How you think, what you think, what you can expect, and what you must tell yourself most of the time to determine the way you feel and how good you are at managing stress levels.

Reduce the stressors around you – identify the stressors you have in your life like relationship problems, money problems, deadlines, grief, and not enough support. If you are unable to resolve these stressors, you must get professional help.

Daily exercise – You must exercise daily. Exercising when you have asthma is a great way to burn the accumulated effects that stress has so you stay healthy.

Sleep is powerful – When you have a chronic illness like asthma, you need a lot of sleep. If you are unable to sleep well because of nighttime asthma, your energy will go down and you will have fewer resources to cope with stress.

Stay away from stressful situations – Manage time effectively, like delegating when needed, pacing yourself, setting priorities, and resting.

These are the information you need to know about asthma. You can also contact allergy specialist Manassas VA.

Benefits of Allergy Shots

A lot of allergy sufferers feel they are different according to the time of year. The symptoms can be sometimes mild and more severe in other times because pollen counts change. The way you feel depends on which season, your allergen triggers, and the time you spend outdoors.

It should not be that way even if there are available effective treatments. If you are wondering whether you should go to an allergy specialist or not, this article is going to help you decide. The benefits are discussed here. Read now to know more.

Allergy Shots Reduces Your Sensitivity

When there are allergies, your immune system is overreacting, which treats the harmless substance and prevents it from becoming a threat. Elements can trigger reactions and they include:

  • Dust mites
  • Mold
  • Pollen
  • Pet dander
  • Insect venom

The allergy shots desensitize triggers when they introduce safe and small amounts to the body. Through time, you will become immune to them, and the effect is similar to a vaccine and your symptoms will decrease.

They Are Normally Very Safe

People are normally tolerant to allergy shots, and the side effects are very mild. Your doctor is going to talk about possible side effects that you should look out for. The shots are best for people who are over the age of 5. The common side effects are itching, swelling, or redness at the injection site.

If you have trouble breathing, experience dizziness, or throat swelling after getting the shot, you should let your allergy doctor know right away. They can be a sign of anaphylaxis, which is rare and serious. The doctor will ask you to wait a while after getting your injection for monitoring.

They Work for Different Allergies

Allergy shots are safe in children who are 5 years old and older, and for those who experience extreme symptoms all the time. It is recommended that you get allergy shots for different allergic conditions like:

  • Seasonal allergies, which includes hay fever and asthma
  • The indoor allergies include dust mites, cockroaches, and pet dander
  • Yellowjackets, insect stings, bees, or wasps

This is an effective therapy, and it also improves asthma symptoms, as well as asthma symptoms and inflammatory conditions such as eczema. However, it is not recommended that you should go for immunotherapy if you have food allergies. When you are pregnant, or if you have uncontrolled heart disease or asthma.

Most Insurances Will Cover You

Health insurances normally cover allergy shots, but this varies depending on the specific plan. Even if your insurance covers the shots, you might still be asked to copay each time you visit. For some, this cost might be cheaper compared to the total price of over-the-counter medications, other visits related to symptoms of hay fever.

If you are wondering about your coverage, you should ask your insurer. Otherwise, costs can be discussed with the allergy clinic.

Reduces Your Need for Long-term Medication

Unlike the allergy medications that work because they mask the symptoms, allergy shots are for reducing your trigger sensitivity. However, it takes a bit of time before this immunity is developed

Allergy shots happen in 2 phases: buildup and then maintenance.

The buildup phase means getting allergy shots on schedule until your body develops immunity.

After that, you will switch to the maintenance phase.

You can visit allergist specialist Manassas to get your allergy shots.

Why You Need to See an Allergy Doctor

Maybe you experience seasonal allergies and you go for over-the-counter medicine to soothe your symptoms like itchy and red eyes. You might want to have an allergy doctor whom you talk to about your symptoms because sometimes these symptoms can get worst. They can affect your ability to function in your daily life.

When should you visit an allergist who diagnoses and treats allergies caused by dysfunctions in the immune system? You will see from this article the reasons why you need an allergist. They are helpful in providing care for a lot of conditions involving the immune system.

Find out more here:

Your Cold is Not Going Away

A cold or virus cough must clear up in a few weeks. If you have persistent coughs or it consistently shows up in a pattern, like only in the spring or when you are in bed, then it might be an allergy.

This is the same for headaches because they can be linked to sinusitis caused by allergies. The dull headaches and repeated fatigue symptoms help you determine if the allergies are involved in helping you get relief.

Your Sinus Infection is Chronic

Sinuses are the hollow openings behind the nose and around the eyes. They have mucus that helps warm and filter breathing. This mucus needs to be drained out. If the mucus gets blocked and the sinuses are congested, you might have a sinus infection. In case you have asthma, allergies, or a weakened immune system, you are more prone to getting sinus infections.

An allergist and immunologist can give you prescription medications that help ease pain and congestion of sinus infections. You will learn the ways of preventing a sinus infection that happens in the first place. For instance, most of the time, washing hands and using a humidifier or nasal spray to add moisture to your nasal passage is helpful.

You Get Diarrhea After a Meal

An allergy doctor can test if you have food allergies and help you separate what is intolerance or food allergy when you eat something. If it is a food allergy, your body will cause an immune response to what you are and it is normally within 2 hours. Swelling, rash, trouble breathing, and hives are all symptoms of food allergy.

Intolerance is harder to detect because the symptoms only start after 3 hours of eating and range from mild nausea, bloating, and diarrhea. If you know which foods to avoid that cause your allergy, you will no longer suffer from the symptoms. Your immune system also improves when you eat certain kinds of foods.

If you are Asthmatic

Asthma can cause the muscles in your airways to spasm or tighten, and it can inflame the lining of the lungs. This is going to block airflow, which makes it hard to breathe. Asthma ranges from mild to severe, which can be life-threatening. You might feel chest tightness and you will struggle to breathe.

When you work with an allergist, your asthma can be controlled and you will have fewer asthma flares. The allergist can give you a prescription for medication so your specific symptoms can be treated. You will learn about different asthma triggers so that you can avoid them.

You will be able to avoid allergy triggers if you see an allergy specialist doctor Germantown MD because you will no longer suffer from the symptoms.