How To Cope With Allergies

Allergies happen when your immune system is too active. For some strange reason, your body decides that some alien substance is a potential danger. It creates an immune response to these materials, which usually means you have sneezing, runny nose, itchy throat and nose, heightened mucus production and watery eyes.

There are a couple of ways to deal with this problem. One, you can try to "turn off" your immune system, so it doesn't react to the allergen. That is what antihistamine medicines do, trying to block the flow of histamines to areas of the body affected by allergies.

Two, you can try to reduce your exposure to allergens. This is the healthier remedy in the long run, because you don't have to take medicines with short term and long term side effects. This is the method I will focus on mostly, though I will describe common medicinal remedy options.

1. Keep humidity out of your house. Molds and mildews thrive in humid atmospheres. Buy a dehumidifier and use it regularly. Exhaust fans in your bathroom also help keep allergy causing mold and mildew out of your restrooms.

2. Vacuum often. Use a "highly efficient particulate air" filter on the vacuum. These filters generally are called HEPA filers. These are specifically designed to capture mould, bacteria, pollen, dust, dust mites and other airborne particles from your carpet. These are the main culprits in causing allergies.

3. When you have been outside, do not leave dirty clothes in your bedroom. Place them in a clothes hamper in your wash room. When you walk around outside, your clothes catch all kinds of airborne allergies. If you leave them in your room next to you overnight, your allergies will be worse.

This is especially important during allergy season, when plants like ragweed are pollinating. This pollen is one of the primary allergens in nature. When it gets in your clothes and you leave them in proximity to you, you might as well have not washed yourself. This brings me to my next point.

4. Shower just before going to bed. This washes allergens off your skin and hair. Otherwise, you are sleeping with a layer of allergens on your body.

5. Dust mites are one of the most common allergens, so you should try to make their life as difficult as possible. These little bugs get in your bed and pillows. Then you lay in them all night.

Cover your bed and pillows with latex covers. The mites cannot live in this material.

6. If you are allergic to latex or you find it more uncomfortable than the risk of allergies, use preventive measures with your cloth pillows and bedding. Consider replacing pillows every two years, because the dust mites live off of the dead flesh which naturally flakes off of people. This builds up and make a perfect nesting ground for dust mites.

7. In the old days, women would hang bedding and pillows on the clothes line and whack them with brooms to get out the dust. This might seem archaic, but some variation of this is not a bad idea. Knock the dust mites out of your pillows and bedding occasionally. Even fluffing your pillow will have a minor positive effect.

Simply airing your bed ware helps, too.

9. If you take all of the precautions above and your allergies are not drastically reduced, you might be allergic to something you eat or drink. If this is the case, try to figure out what you might be ingesting that is causing allergies. Try to find a pattern of when your allergies are at their worst. Common allergens include cheeses and dairy products, corn, wheat products, citric juices or acidic substances or even medications.

Discontinue the use of one of these groups at a time. If your allergies go away, you might have found the substance which is making your life so miserable.

10. Test out household aerosols and cleaning agents. Certain people are allergic to certain soaps and shampoos. Hair sprays and perfumes also commonly cause reactions in people.

11. Beware plug-in air fresheners. These are known to cause allergic reactions in a lot of people. I know one persons whose allergies were dramatically reduced simply ridding their house of these items. They make the house bathroom smell better, but might be making you miserable.

12. Watch out for Kitty or Fido. Many people are allergic to household animals. Cat hair is an especially common allergen. If this is the case, you have a tough choice. Do you put get rid of your cat, put your cat outside or suffer through it? That's a tough decision for a lot of people and one you will have to make yourself. Just remember that animals are naturally adapted to living outdoors.

13. If your nose is most affected, there are certain easy remedies for some of the worst effects of allergies. Saline solutions wash out many allergens in your nose. These gather in the sinus cavity of your nose and you have no other way to wash them away.

This not only helps your itchy nose and sneezing, but also prevents sinus infections. These infections are becoming more common for allergy sufferers these days.

14. Find an over-the-counter antihistamine which works for you. Many of these dry up a person and leads to sinus infections. Others make a person drowsy, which is sometimes worse than an allergy. I have found that Loradatine Orally Disintegrating Tablets by Alavert work best for me. This is the only over the counter antihistamine which doesn't give me a sinus infection.

I usually don't recommend one particular product, but I know of two other people who have encountered the same problems and found this particular medicine to be a relief for them. Others have complained that antihistamines like Benadryl and Claritin dry their sinuses up too much. Those are big name products which obviously help many people, so I'm not saying they won't work for you. But if you have had this particular problem, I want to help out anyone who has the same difficulties I do.

15. Finally, consult a physician to help you determine your allergies. The doctor will give you a skin test. Tiny samples of many different allergens are placed on your skin. Those which cause a reaction are obviously the ones you are allergic to. With this professional help, you can eliminate these allergies from your environment.

Your doctor can help you eliminate allergens or prescribe an allergy reducer like Allegra. This medicine has amazing results for many people.