Learn How To Control Your Allergies

There are many different kinds of allergies. Approximately One in 7 individuals are allergic to pollen. Pollens are small, egg-shaped male cells of flowering plants. The flowering plants produce these pollens as part of their reproductive process. A myriad of trees, weeds and grasses use wind pollination. These plants have dangling structures or anthers. This is when the wind captures the pollen. A large amount of pollen is released and transmitted with the air to a surface. It might land in your eyes or you could breathe it in. Several will land on a receptive stigma or female organ.

Some the signs of pollen allergies are stuffy nose, itchy eyes, headaches, sore throat and trouble breathing. Just how much pollen that is in mid-air depends on time of day and when the elements is windy and warm. The total amount of pollen in the air for any day is called the pollen count.

Pollen grains carry on their exterior coat 30-40 dissimilar proteins. The female parts of the flower need these proteins to differentiate the right match for pollination. Should you inhale in pollen grains or they enter into your vision, the proteins are discharged just as if they landed on the receptive female stigma.

Normally the defense mechanisms would take care of the foreign proteins by discarding them. Some people come with an defense mechanisms that won’t eliminate the pollen proteins. Instead, a process happens that releases a chemical called histamine. The histamine causes the the signs of the allergy.

Mid October towards the end of March will be the months when pollen is in the air. This will depend around the region due to the plant’s response to the climate. Trees flower once the weather begins to get warmer early in the year. The flowering time for every type of tree lasts around two weeks but the peak pollinating period only last a couple of days. There are lots of varieties of grass and they each have their very own flowering period between mid-December and mid-March.

There are a few methods for you to decrease your exposure to pollen. Pollen clings to clothes, skin and hair. Take a bath or shower and change your clothes once you have been outside. It is best to stay indoors during the morning hours between 5 and 10 a.m. Likewise try to avoid being outdoors on dry days or when the wind is strong. Wear a protective mask should you must work outside. Vacuum regularly having a vacuum cleaner that catches all of the airborne particles. You may also make use of a good air cleaner to keep your indoor air clean. Taking herbs such as enchinacea and dandelion has been suggested to assist allergic reactions.

Learn as much as you can concerning the plants that create your allergic reaction. This will teach to identify the plants so you can stay away from them when they are pollinating. Keep all of the windows closed during the day and run an air conditioner. Prior to the pollination period starts and after it’s over you have nothing to bother with. You can even go for a walk in a wooded area.

News reports from this year and last tell us that increasing numbers of us are experiencing seasonal allergies. If you’re suffering and find that your prescription or over-the-counter medications seem ineffective, why not consider trying a natural remedy? Don’t stop taking your medications, although you’ll most likely want to let your doctor know what you’re doing. After a time, you may find that not only your symptoms, but your need for medications, are greatly reduced.

Here are a number of natural methods to help you gain control over your allergies:

Reduce dairy consumption – One of the most effective ways to ease environmental allergy symptoms is to completely remove dairy from your diet. Dairy is a mucus-producing food and is considered quite inflammatory. Try completely eliminating cow’s milk products from your diet for two months and see if it makes a difference.

Other food allergies – Many health practitioners agree that seasonal allergies may be related to food allergies or sensitivities. If you’ve tried removing dairy products from your diet and found no relief, you may want to try an elimination diet. This will involve eliminating from your diet for a period of time the foods that most commonly create an immune reaction. In addition to milk, these include eggs, nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. A nutrition professional can help guide you through an elimination diet.

Honey – many allergy sufferers swear by eating honey that has been produced in an area local to them to reduce hay fever symptoms.

Omega-3 fatty acids – these help control inflammation and are available in a small number of foods, including cold-water fish such as wild salmon and tuna, walnuts, and flax seeds and flax seed oil. To be sure you’re getting enough of this important nutrient, eat two servings of wild salmon each week, or supplement with cod liver oil or fish oil capsules.

Limit your exposure; – If you are a chronic allergy sufferer, avoid exercising outdoors, especially in the early morning, when pollen counts are highest. Avoid the outdoors particularly on windy days if your allergies are severe. Keep home and car windows closed, and wear a mask while performing yard work. You can take this a step further by limiting your exposure to toxins that may cause sensitivity, such as perfumes, household cleaning and laundry products, and scented candles and room deodorizers.

Neti pots – These have been used in India for thousands of years to keep the sinuses clear and seem to be gaining popularity here in the U.S. They are shaped similar to Aladdin’s lamp, inexpensive, and available and health food stores and many drugstores. Instructions will be included in the box, but basically, you’ll fill the neti pot using a mixture of non-iodized salt and lukewarm water and, leaning your head over the sink, pour half the saltwater mixture into one nostril, let it drain, and repeat on the other side with the remaining mixture. Use your neti pot twice a day during allergy season, especially after you’ve been outdoors.

Supplements:

An herb called stinging nettle leaf reduces the amount of histamine the body produces, reducing sneezing and itching due to hay fever. Stinging nettle leaf extract in freeze-dried capsule form can be taken in a dose of 300 milligrams daily.

Quercetin is a bioflavonoid, a phytochemical found in plant foods such as apples, onions, berries, grapes, teas, and red wine that supports the immune system and acts as a natural antihistamine. A normal healthy diet will provide about 25-50 milligrams of quercetin; if you choose to supplement this, be sure to follow the dosage instructions on the bottle.

People can become allergic to pets suddenly at any time in their lives. The allergy is not so much to the pet but the allergens that cling to their hair, ingested by them or secreted naturally through their skin. We can develop pet allergies to any type of animal but the most common are cats and dogs. The allergic reaction varies in severity from person to person but usually attacks the upper respiratory system, resulting in red itchy watery eyes, wheezing or difficulty breathing, swelling of the face or upper limbs or a rash on any part of the body.

Seasonal allergies can make these symptoms worse and some individuals can find relief with over the counter medication. Some allergies are so severe that sufferers get a weekly injection or take daily medication. If you are a pet owner and suffer from allergy symptoms you should consider an allergy test to find out exactly what your allergies are. Our bodies are finely tuned machines, and most people live with allergies but never suffer any symptoms. When the body is out of balance the smallest irritant can overload the system and trigger an allergic reaction.

As long as your pet allergies are not severe, there are steps you can take to minimize your reaction before you find a new home for your beloved pet. Although you can’t change what you’re allergic to, you can control the symptoms and your environment. First of all start with a healthy balanced diet, and make some changes to your environment that could help keep your allergic reactions to a minimum.

1. Although I do not like the thought, you could keep your pet out of the house completely

2. Keep your pets off the furniture

3. Use an air humidifier to keep airborne dust and hair particles to a minimum

4. Reduce the amount of carpet you have in the home

5. Bathe your and groom pet regularly and keep him indoors as much as you can

6. Wash your hands after handling your pet

7. Keep furniture dusted and use a vacuum with a HEPA filter

There are some things you can do yourself that will lessen any allergic reaction to your pet. Unfortunately, you may need to find a new home for your pet if you can’t get your allergies under control. For most of us our pets are part of the family and we want to keep them with us so if you have allergies to animals I hope these tips help you.

Being diagnosed with a corn allergy is just the beginning of a new, and often troublesome life. This is because corn or any of its derivatives can be found in so many places in our everyday life. One of the most important though is in the foods you eat on a daily basis.

When you first hear about the corn allergy, most people do not get very anxious – at least, not yet. Most people’s first impression is well, I really liked corn on the cob or cornbread but I can do without. There’s plenty of other stuff to eat. But then someone hands you a list of all the places you can find corn and you will become instantly dismayed.

Common Items You Need To Avoid

Cooking can be a minefield when it comes to corn. Thickening gravy, casseroles and soups and stews uses cornstarch, HFCS (or high fructose corn syrup) is just processed corn. Candies, cookies, cakes and pies are some of the most obvious. But what about ketchup, chili sauce, salad dressings, steak sauce, pasta and meat entrees (from the freezer case), or the same type of food products from a box. Deli meats, ground sausage, bologna, ground beef or ground ham may have HFCS in as a shelf stabilizer and food preservative. There is so many more selections off limits when you start reading ingredient labels while you are in the grocery store.

Some of the not so obvious names also on the ingredients labels can also contain corn without you realizing it. Anytime you see any of the following, that item must be checked with the manufacturer as one of the hidden ingredients may be corn. Always look out for:

artificial flavors or artificial colors
artificial sweeteners
baking powder
frozen blueberries (often use corn to prevent clumping)
caramel color or caramel flavor
fresh chickens (chicken feed is often corn)
iodized salt
many types of pickled products

This is just a very short list of some of the troubled areas you may find you must learn to avoid. So to best learn to keep safe, start training yourself of the many places each day you may be running into corn without you even realizing it.

Reading the ingredient label on foods sounds so easy and normal but from now on you must also check the contents of some of the strangest things. Postage stamps and envelopes (the glue label often uses corn-based glues and sealants.) Many room aerosol sprays, garden hoses and garden chemicals, some vitamin supplements and medications plus plastic containers, paper cups and paper plates often have corn as a base ingredient. This is a short-list of “beware” everyday household products.

What Is Safe With A Corn Allergy

Learning how to prepare everything in your own kitchen is your best defense against corn allergy. Cooking from scratch means you are aware of every item that goes into your meal. As long as you have control of the ingredients, you can control your allergen also. So learning to cook the corn-free way includes using many of the following:

potato flour or potato starch
rice flour or rice milks
some of the alternative grains not from a wheat source (cross contamination concerns)
100% fruit juices or fruit syrups
whole fruits and vegetables, preferably organic (avoid many frozen varieties because of cross contamination issues)
pasture-fed meats (verify corn was not part of their food source)
sugar cane or sugar beet on the label means it is OK

So although reading the ingredient label may be your first line of defense, this plus is only common in relation to food products. Also, because a corn allergy is not considered one of the major allergens, many of the sourced products on a label (such as citric acid or caramel flavoring/caramel color) may contain corn and you do not even know it. There also is no way you can tell it from reading that label.