Pollen season sneezing, itchy eyes from pets or food allergies and breathing difficulty from food allergies are just some ways allergies can interfere with daily life, but living with allergies doesn’t need to be impossible.
Allergies may worsen or diminish depending on a variety of factors. Below are some strategies for dealing with allergy symptoms: 1. Acquaint Yourself With Your Allergies.
Identify Your Triggers
Allergies are your body’s response to foreign substances entering it through inhalation, ingestion or direct skin contact. The immune system recognizes this threat as being real and produces antibodies against it; this process may irritate sinuses, lungs or airways and cause reactions such as sinusitis or asthma attacks.
There are numerous allergens that may trigger reactions in humans, but they typically fall into one of three categories. Pollen, pet dander and dust mite feces inhaled are commonly responsible for inducing symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes and runny noses.
Food allergies may cause symptoms like hives, swelling and difficulty breathing. If you experience any severe reactions, call 911 immediately and use any prescribed epinephrine pen if applicable.
Healthcare providers can help you identify allergy triggers and devise plans to combat them. Over-the-counter medicines, including antihistamines, decongestants and nasal sprays may reduce symptoms; you could also clean regularly and use an air purifier to filter out allergens like dust and mold from your home environment. In certain instances, healthcare providers may suggest allergy testing in order to pinpoint exactly what causes symptoms – this may range from skin prick tests all the way up to blood or patch tests that provide pinpointed causes; then more tailored treatments to alleviate them.
Stay Away From Your Triggers
Healthy habits like eating healthily, exercising regularly and not smoking are great ways to reduce allergy triggers in daily life. But as allergies can strike at any time, emergency medications like Benadryl2 should always be on hand in case symptoms appear quickly.
Apart from lifestyle modifications, one of the best ways to avoid allergy triggers is through intimate knowledge. A diary can be invaluable in this regard by helping to narrow down potential triggers by noting when and where your allergy symptoms began; additionally it may assist in tracking their frequency and severity over time.
When your allergens include people like friends or family members, avoiding them isn’t always an option. Instead, focus on developing coping skills to manage any uncomfortable situations when you find yourself working with an overbearing coworker or coming into contact with people who easily anger you.
Triggers that relate to bodily states, like tiredness and hunger, tend to be easier to overcome. Sleeping better, packing snacks when traveling and cutting back on caffeine are all simple strategies for decreasing allergy symptoms.
Keep a Diary
Maintaining a diary can help both you and your healthcare provider identify allergy triggers and symptoms more easily. Keep track of everything you eat as well as when any allergic symptoms such as itching, wheezing or stomach cramps arise. Keep a close watch for patterns; for instance if symptoms worsened after eating specific meals on several occasions then this might indicate that an allergy exists to that food source.
An additional advantage of keeping a journal is being able to identify whether your symptoms are due to something other than food – like viruses or bacteria – so as to be able to determine the most appropriate course of treatment.
Diaries can also serve as useful tools for monitoring how allergy symptoms change throughout the day and show whether allergy medicines are working effectively or not.
Keep a diary either in a notebook or via an app on your phone – both are good options that may work for you. Bring your journal along to medical appointments so you and your physician can review it together to develop the most effective plan for managing allergies – this might include discussing potential triggers for future reactions as well as ways to prevent future reactions; perhaps trying a different allergy test or starting treatment might even come into the discussion.
Talk to Your Healthcare Provider
Your allergy symptoms may not be life threatening, but they can seriously impair your quality of life. If sneezing and itching have become an everyday annoyance for you, consult your healthcare provider about managing them effectively.
Allergies are your immune system’s natural way to protect itself from germs that could potentially cause infections or illnesses. In an allergic reaction, antibodies are produced which identify certain allergens as harmful; when exposed again to that allergen again, those antibodies activate mast cells to release chemicals called histamines which then trigger runny nose and sneezing symptoms – all caused by these same histamines!
People who are susceptible to severe allergic reactions should always carry two epinephrine auto-injectors and wear a medical alert bracelet in case their allergic symptoms worsen significantly.
Your allergy doctor can help you develop a plan to effectively manage and improve the quality of life associated with allergies. He/she may prescribe over-the-counter medicines or recommend allergy shots in order to decrease symptoms, and provide tips on safely managing food allergies throughout your journey (from preschools and childcare settings, K-12 schools, colleges and workplaces – not forgetting pregnancy!). For further insight, download FARE’s Allergy Resource Guides today.
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