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Tired of spending hours looking for answers to your questions?
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 Allergiesby cris conti Dogs just want to have fun, and this one is slobbering on its Frisbee and begging you to play. But instead of obliging your best friend, you sniffle, sneeze, rub your red eyes redder, and choke down a cup of mud-colored tea to help your immune system attack whatever bug is crawling through your innards. There’s only one problem: Your symptoms aren’t going away. And, ironically, your immune system is probably the culprit--as well as your carpet, your bed, that pair of underwear decomposing under your bed, and even Rover himself. If you’ve got a box-a-day Kleenex habit and it isn’t getting any better, it’s likely that you don’t have a cold, but rather an allergy. “A cold or upper-respiratory viral illness is self-limited, with symptoms lasting for three to five days,” says Gary Rachelefsky, M.D., associate director of the allergy-immunology training program at UCLA. “A prolonged ‘cold’ lasting more than 10 days is an allergy, a sinus infection or both.” (A sinus infection, often triggered by colds or allergies and characterized by sinus pain and gross, thick nasal discharge, requires a visit to the doctor for diagnosis and antibiotic treatment--right away, please.) The fact that allergies often show up when other people are catching springtime colds can add to your confusion, but understanding exactly what an allergy is, and how to deal with it, can help clear (and dry) things up. Your Body Is Your Enemy Allergic reactions occur when your immune system rallies its defense mechanisms against something that seems to be a threat, even when it isn’t. In response to an “invading” substance, such as a bit of pollen or Rover’s dander, it sends out large amounts of disease-fighting antibodies called immunoglobulin E. These molecules attach themselves to the body’s mast (tissue) cells and basophils, or blood cells. Then, whenever you’re exposed to that same allergen again, the cells that the IgE molecules have become attached to send out inflammatory chemicals that try to get rid of the allergens by flushing them away. Unfortunately, those flushing mechanisms take the form of sneezing, coughing, runny nose, post-nasal drip, and itching eyes, nose or throat. There’s also a second defensive line: Hours after the initial reaction, your body sends white blood cells that encourage even more inflammatory chemicals, which can keep on irritating your nasal passages. With continued exposure to the allergen, this can result in a chain reaction in which your symptoms go on indefinitely--or to the point that your nasal passages become so sensitive, any irritant, from colognes and cleaning fumes to spicy foods to cold weather, can cause your nose to run. Nearly 50 million Americans have some kind of allergy, and at least 35 million suffer from seasonal allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Allergies can run in families, and you have a one-in-four chance of developing the same susceptibilities as your mother or father. If both your parents are allergic, you may as well buy stock in Kimberly-Clark right now. And while allergies can often get better as you enter your 30s and 40s, it’s possible to develop a new allergy at any time, especially if you become sensitized by exposure to other allergens. Defense Against Allergies Once you’ve identified your problem as an allergy, there are lots of things you can do to start easing your symptoms. The first thing, of course, is avoid the allergen in the first place, but that isn’t always so simple. If you’re experiencing the problem right now, it’s likely you have hay fever, a reaction to the pollens that can fill the air in April and May. In general, pollen allergies become more pronounced in the spring, grass allergies in late spring and summer, and weed allergies in late summer and fall. While you may think that the best way to get clean air indoors is to open every window, keeping those shutters shut and the air conditioning on is the best prevention for pollen exposure. Unfortunately, notes Rachelefsky, this is less effective in places such as California, where houses aren’t built as airtight as those in the Midwest or the Northeast. And if you exercise outdoors, try to avoid doing it in the morning or on warm, dry, breezy days, when pollen counts are highest. Indoor allergens are another thing entirely. Your home could be harboring mold spores, pet dander and dust mites. While they aren’t very effective against pollens, Rachelefsky says that indoor air filters can help prevent you from inhaling these common irritants. You will also do well to maintain a clean living space (try five times the normal cleanliness level if you’re a single male). Keep your floors washed and your carpets vacuumed, and launder bedding in hot water. If you’re really suffering, you may want to eliminate carpeting, down blankets, feather pillows and cloth curtains from your home. If it’s Fido who’s bothering you, give him a weekly bath and banish him from your bedroom. And if there’s a moldy smell anywhere in your home, make sure water isn’t leaching in from pipes or from outside, and consider a dehumidifier to keep the air dry. The next step is to see your doctor, who will probably prescribe antihistamines, which block the inflammatory chemicals produced as part of an allergic reaction. Unlike over-the-counter antihis-tamines, prescription drugs such as Claritin, Allegra or Zyrtec aren’t likely to make you drowsy. If they don’t help enough, you may be encouraged to take nasal steroid sprays such as Nasonex or Flonase to ease inflammation--but bear in mind that these can sometimes irritate the nose and actually make your symptoms worse. Another inhaled medication, cromolyn sodium, may help prevent allergic reactions from occurring when taken regularly. Although there’s little scientific evidence to back them up, some allergy sufferers find relief with natural remedies such as stinging nettle, an herb that comes in capsule form, and quercetin, a bioflavonoid nutrient derived from buckwheat and citrus that may help reduce the release of histamines. Natural-medicine specialist Andrew Weil, M.D., also recommends reducing stress and practicing relaxation techniques such as yoga or hypnosis to help “desensitize” your immune system. Do all this, and you’ll probably feel pretty good--at least, that is, until you catch the cold that’s going around. Article Suggested By: PEA editors Suggest an article. |
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