Sneezing during pollen season or having itchy eyes around pets may seem like minor inconveniences, but allergies can have serious repercussions that affect all aspects of life – from their sense of well-being to daily activities and even potentially fatal outcomes.
FARE provides resources that empower individuals with food allergies to safely manage them at every stage of their lives, from daycare and preschool through K-12 schools, college courses and work experiences.
What Causes Allergies?
Allergies arise when your immune system goes haywire and activates a false alarm, mistaking certain substances like pollen or dust mites as threats that need protecting from disease-causing microbes, but falsely responding against substances like food additives or medications as harmful.
As soon as an allergen makes contact with the skin, nose, eyes or lungs it will initiate an immune response. This generates IgE antibodies specific to that allergen which, upon future exposure, bind with it and release chemicals including histamine which in turn activates cells lining your blood vessels and tissues that lead to swelling, itching or redness as well as opening small blood vessels which allows fluid into them, potentially making your nose run or eyes watery.
An inflammatory response can also trigger asthma symptoms, including wheezing or difficulty breathing, while certain allergies such as those triggered by insect venom or food may require medical intervention quickly to avoid life-threatening consequences.
Allergies are most prevalent among children, though they can affect people of any age. While they often run in families, their exact cause remains unknown – perhaps genetics and environmental factors play a part? Some individuals also appear to develop seasonal allergies from trees, grasses or weeds while air pollution, mold, pet dander or medications could all play a part in contributing.
Symptoms
Allergies occur when your immune system misidentifies something typically harmless as being harmful and overreacts, injuring itself by overreacting. Allergens include pollen, dust mites and pet dander as well as foods or medicines you ingest. Allergic reactions vary depending on how and where the allergen enters your body; symptoms could include inhaling it, swallowing it or getting it injected. The way an allergen enters may also play a factor. If inhaled, symptoms include runny or stuffy nose, itchy eyes, nasal congestion and abdominal cramping. When consumed through ingestion or stomach absorption, stomach discomfort, diarrhea and vomiting may occur; when applied topically through bites or stings itchy bumps known as hives can appear.
Keep a diary to monitor your symptoms, and watch when they worsen, such as during spring when trees bloom or in autumn when pollen from various weeds such as ragweed increases. This way you may identify seasonal allergies early.
If your allergies don’t respond to over-the-counter remedies, visit your primary care doctor for an evaluation and referrals to specialists such as allergists and otolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat doctors). Your primary care physician may suggest immunotherapy with allergy shots in order to reduce or even eliminate your allergy to specific irritants.
Treatment
Allergies can cause symptoms ranging from mild to severe, including runny noses, watery eyes, rashes or hives. Seasonal allergies or year-round reactions are both possible; seasonal allergies tend to affect children more than adults who were raised by allergic parents while hereditary allergies tend to run in families. Allergic reactions can often be managed through medication and by avoiding allergens altogether.
Treatment options may include antihistamines, which act by blocking histamine release to alleviate allergy symptoms. OTC or prescription antihistamines include cetirizine (Allergy-D or Zyrtec(r)) and loratadine (Claritin(r)). Nasal steroid sprays like Fluticasone (Flonase(r), ClariSpray(r) can also help. Antileukotriene drugs such as montelukast (Singulair(r), Zafirlukast (Fenol PE(r), or Sudafed PE(r). Oral medication such as Omalizumab(r), or dupilumab(Benralizumab(r), may help to prevent severe asthma attacks by blocking IgE antibodies against specific proteins.
Immunotherapy entails giving allergy shots or sublingual immunotherapy (allergy drops) to build tolerance to allergens is another approach. Your doctor will expose you to small doses over several months, gradually increasing them until desensitization changes your immune system and relieves your symptoms. Immunotherapy should only be considered in severe cases of allergies or asthma and combined with other therapies as an additional solution.
Prevention
Allergies can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or socioeconomic status. They may first appear at any age and recur after years in remission; hormones, stress levels, smoking or environmental irritants may trigger allergies and increase symptoms.
Untreated allergies can be hazardous to one’s health. Seasonal allergy (hay fever) symptoms can contribute to chronic sinusitis, with ongoing facial pain, pressure and congestion; they may also trigger or worsen asthma attacks which require emergency care for treatment.
Food allergies such as those to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs and wheat tend to last throughout a person’s lifetime. According to research, babies born via cesarean section are more likely to develop an allergy than those delivered vaginally.
Maintaining an allergy-free home can help protect against allergies. For instance, this could include replacing carpets and rugs, washing bedding regularly and using hypoallergenic pillows and mattresses, keeping pets that shed outside, regularly bathing them as well as reading ingredient labels at restaurants to detect potential allergens, reading ingredient labels to check for allergens as well as carrying an anaphylaxis kit with epinephrine auto-injectors that can treat severe reactions, consulting your physician for guidance before administering this medication so they can explain how best to administer this medication as well as help devising plans to manage allergy symptoms effectively.
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