Indoor allergies are known to cause symptoms including itchy eyes, sneezing and nasal congestion year-round – often impacting children and adults alike.
Medication and home maintenance measures can help relieve allergy symptoms caused by cockroaches, pet dander, mold spores, dust mites, smoking or everyday items like dust mites. Furthermore, allergy shots have proven highly effective at improving symptoms over time.
Pet Allergies
Pets produce allergens through their hair and saliva that can trigger respiratory symptoms, including sneezing and itchy, watery eyes. These allergens, known as “dander”, can be found in cats and dogs’ fur as well as smaller animals like rabbits, hamsters, mice, rats and guinea pigs – or by touching your pet and breathing in any dander that clings onto clothing that you touch afterwards.
Most people with pet allergies are most sensitive to pet dander; however, some also react negatively to urine, saliva and droppings from an animal. While dander and urine can irritate skin and eyes and trigger asthma in some people, an allergic reaction results from an over-reaction by one’s immune system which interprets proteins found in harmless animals as harmful substances.
Pet allergies tend to run in families and symptoms can range from mild to severe. Anaphylaxis reactions (life-threatening allergic reactions) have occurred among some people who suffer pet allergies; therefore it’s essential that anyone suspected of possessing pet allergies seek a diagnosis from a GP or allergy specialist immediately.
Eliminating pets from your home can be the most effective way to reduce allergy symptoms, but many find this difficult and prefer to find other solutions instead. Setting up an allergen-free zone such as your bedroom with HEPA air cleaner, limited fabrics such as curtains and rugs, washing regularly as well as recruiting non-pet owning family or friends to regularly brush and clean its kennel, litter box or cage can all help keep dander at bay. Immunotherapy or desensitizing shots may also help improve symptoms.
Mold Allergies
Mold allergies result from an overreaction by the immune system to spores produced by certain kinds of fungi found both indoors and outdoors. Mold allergy symptoms can include nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes and throat irritation, coughing, wheezing coughing wheezing coughing wheezing coughing wheezing coughing wheezing coughing wheezing coughing wheezing and skin irritation – often worse during certain seasons or when conditions favouring growth of certain varieties of mold.
An allergist is the best way to determine if you’re allergic to mold. Your physician will need details about your symptoms and when they started; and may suggest either a skin prick test or blood allergy test as means for diagnosing you with allergies; during skin tests, small amounts of allergens (including mold spores) will be placed onto your skin before being pricked – if this results in red or raised spots on the test area it indicates an allergy reaction.
Medication may offer relief for allergy symptoms. Antihistamines, including newer generation ones that don’t cause drowsiness, can decrease histamine production in your body which contributes to allergy symptoms; intranasal steroids may also reduce allergic responses by reducing inflammation in sinuses and nose; immunotherapy could be another solution; it involves giving repeated small doses of the substance that you are allergic to over three to five years so your body can become used to it and become less reactive to it.
Dust Allergies
Household dust contains various allergens such as pollen, mold spores, pet hair and dead skin cells that may irritate sensitive individuals’ immune systems and lead to symptoms like runny noses or itchy eyes or throats. If allergies become severe or long-lasting problems for you, treatment with an allergy specialist may be required for effective relief.
An allergy skin test is often employed to pinpoint the source of an allergy. Your physician will prick your skin with small doses of allergen extract and observe for any itchy reactions, helping determine which allergens are triggering your symptoms and helping you avoid them in future.
Dust mites, microscopic bugs that feed off dead skin cells, are the main source of dust allergies. They thrive in warm and humid areas like bedrooms where they cling to bedding, mattresses and upholstery furniture – often leading to symptoms like sneezing, itching and wheezing all year round.
Allergies to pet dander, saliva and urine can also trigger symptoms in some people, but these allergens are hard to avoid because they’re embedded in household dust. One way of minimizing exposure is keeping a pet outside; but even this won’t completely alleviate symptoms for those who are particularly sensitive. For the best way to combat indoor allergens effectively consult an allergy specialist.
Smoke Allergies
Tobacco smoke has long been linked with various allergies, from rhinitis and allergic sensitization to rhinitis and allergic rhinitis. The link between tobacco smoke and allergy stems from increased levels of eosinophilia in nasal mucous membranes–an immune system response which leads to inflammation and allergic symptoms–which increases significantly with smoking exposure.
Common symptoms caused by exposure to smoke include sneezing, coughing and runny nose; people with this allergy may also suffer from itchy and watery eyes due to irritation of nasal membranes which causes excess phlegm production as a defense mechanism against this potential irritant reaching their lungs.
Repeated exposure to wood smoke can result in more serious allergies such as bronchial asthma. This condition, which involves tightness of chest, wheezing and difficulty breathing is more likely among those who already have preexisting conditions such as family history of respiratory issues or have experienced secondhand smoke exposure.
Allergies to smoking can be difficult to recognize and diagnose, making the best way to assess whether or not you have one the ability to track symptoms when they arise and when exposed to smoke. Keep a diary detailing when and where symptoms appear as an effective way of diagnosing whether you may be suffering from smoke allergies; if symptoms correspond to spending time around smoke while clearing when entering an environment free from it this would indicate strongly that an allergy exists.
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