Spectrum of Wellness

Overcoming Sensory and Allergy Challenges to Live a Productive and Happy Life

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Summer and Allergies: 15+ Important Preparation Tips

Summer and Allergies: 15+ Important Preparation Tips

Allergy

Tree, grass and plant pollen can trigger allergic reactions. Hay fever is a common allergy triggered by weeds, particularly ragweed. Ragweed is a primary carrier of the allergen pollen. Pollen is an environmental airborne pollutant that causes upper respiratory health problems, including the most chronic childhood disorder, asthma, an inflammatory lung disease.

Allergy Seasons

Some allergies are seasonal, occurring during the pollination season of particular grasses or trees, in fall, spring or summer. In the spring, maple, oak and elm trees pollinate. During summer months, timothy, orchard and Bermuda grasses pollinate.

An allergy to grass is often tied in with hay fever. Symptoms and causes are alike. Among symptoms is inflammation of the sinus cavity or nose, called “rhinitis”. This inflammation results in an allergic reaction in the nose. Symptoms include runny nose, sneezing, and watery, itchy eyes. Some may experience a tickle at the roof of the mouth or at the back of the throat.

Pollen allergy is also referred to as “seasonal allergic rhinitis” or “hay fever” because the pollen count and allergic reaction is highest during hay season. Typically starting in March, high pollen counts signal the start of allergy season. This allergic reaction to pollen makes your nose run during certain seasons.

Allergy symptoms in general typically include severely itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, coughing and symptoms that appear to be a cold or flu. A physician can conduct an allergy test to determine the source of an allergic reaction.

Prepare, Prevent and Remedy Allergies

Progressively building tolerance to airborne allergens such as pollen can help weather allergies through the summer’s high pollen count. Additionally, different strategies can be used to manage allergies.

Finding Eyes and Nose Relief

  • Eye drops. Over the counter or prescription anti-inflammatory eye drops can relieve eye irritations.
  • Nasal sprays. Used prior to and during allergy season, nasal sprays may prevent hay fever symptoms from escalating during summer season.
  • Itchy eyes may warrant hay fever intervention by a physician for more than over the counter medication.

10 Indoor Tips to Combat Allergies

  • 1. If the pollen count is high, stay indoors, especially in the morning.
  • 2. During summer, close doors and windows.
  • 3. For fresh air, use air purifier.
  • 4. Regularly clean air filters.
  • 5. Regularly clean locations where pollen collects easily, such as vents and bookshelves.
  • 6. Use hot water washing for rugs and bedding to kill allergens such as dust mites.
  • 7. Steam vacuum clean carpets.
  • 8. Upon coming indoors, wash hair to eliminate pollen.
  • 9. Use a mask when dusting, vacuuming, or cleaning house.
  • 10. Maintain the range of house humidity from 30 to 50% to inhibit dust mite populations, which thrive in highly humid environments.

    2 Outdoor Tips for Fighting Allergies

    • 1. Use a mask, regardless of allergies, when performing yard work, such as mowing or raking to prevent inhaling grass pollen, dirt and dust.
    • 2. Avoid wearing contact lenses and opt instead for glasses, which allow more oxygen to reach the eyes.

      8 Organic Tips to Remedy Allergies

    • 1. Use licorice, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties that can significantly reduce allergic symptoms such as swelling.
    • 2. Inhale eucalyptus oil in steam to reduce chest and nasal congestion.
    • 3. Use nettle tablets or tea for hay fever to combat eye irritation and sinus blockage.
    • 4. Drink chamomile tea which has antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties.
    • 5. Use ginger which has anti-microbial properties and promotes platelet production to combat allergens.
    • 6. Reduce dairy intake may help hay fever sufferers keep mucus at bay in the sinus cavities
    • 7. Increase honey consumption may build up pollen tolerance.
    • 8. Consume vitamin C to boost immunity and lowers allergic reactions. Consume citrus fruits, such as lemons, grapes, and plums, and other vitamin C sources.

    Pollen is a significant source of allergies. Allergy sufferers can use this wide range of prevention and intervention strategies to successfully manage allergic reactions throughout the seasons.

    Guest author Andrew Rios is a freelance blogger for accessrx.com where you can order medications online. To learn more you can visit the Accessrx Site or their Accessrx Facebook page.

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    See How Eye Care Controls Allergies

    See How Eye Care Controls Allergies

    Catching That Sniffle free creative commons

    Good eyewear and proper eye care can minimize itchy, watery eyes associated with hay fever and allergies.

    Naturally, allergy sufferers want maximum relief in minimum time; or, better still, they want to avoid allergy attacks altogether. Doctors generally advise over-the-counter anti-histamines and nasal decongestants which relieve the majority of allergy symptoms. For serious allergy attacks or asthma patients, physicians may resort to high-powered histamine blockers or cortico-steroids. However, pills, sprays, and inhalers seldom relieve eye irritation and dryness, often the most painful and annoying among allergy complaints. Therefore, as hay fever and allergy season swings into high gear, take a few precautionary measures and stock-up on the right topical solutions for fast, effective relief.

    Don’t sanitize. Desensitize.
    Recent research confirms most allergists’ long-standing suspicions: Americans’ passion for germ-free environments and prescription “cold” medications, ironically, is contributing to their allergies, because it limits their opportunities for developing natural immunity to many airborne irritants. Aggressive hand-washing and cough-sneeze management make perfect sense during colds-and-flu season. Antibiotics and anti-virals, however, do not substantially reduce recovery time, and they do contribute to emergence of more virulent bacteria and viruses. Meanwhile, the body forfeits chances to develop its defenses. Allergists say routine exposure to some dust, pollen and pet hair can reduce frequency and duration of allergy attacks in many patients. They call the process “desensitization,” and studies show the process helps more than 50 percent of children over-come or outgrow their allergies; similar studies suggest more than one-fourth of adult sufferers also may benefit from desensitization. Advanced immuno-therapies also show great promise. Your allergist may inject you with small quantities of common allergens, helping your body develop its natural immunity.

    Allergists caution, however, all allergy patients always and everywhere should avoid exposure to mold and volatile organic compounds. Allergists also concede eye irritation almost always requires immediate, effective relief. They recommend:

    • Put-up a good defense. The simplest, most obvious solution numbers among the most effective. Invest in wrap-around eyeglasses and sunglasses, minimizing your eyes’ exposure to dust and pollen. When your physician declares new glasses “medically necessary,” they become tax deductible, taking some of the sting from the price of fashion eyewear. Similarly, replace the filters in your air conditioner and treat your carpets to a good spring cleaning. If spring melt-off and rain have contributed to exceptionally heavy pollen, invest in air purifiers for your workspace and bedroom.

    • Care for your contact lenses. Generally comfortable with your contacts, you may go crazy during allergy season, because allergens and enzymes in your tears may cling to your lenses, causing serious irritation and blurred vision. Consult your physician before you try over-the-counter eye drops or contact-lens cleaners, because you may be allergic to preservatives in some solutions; mother solutions may damage or discolor your contacts. You also have another alternative. Switch from long-wearing lenses to daily disposables, which will not collect irritating deposits that aggravate your allergy symptoms.

    • Over-the-counter eye-washes and drops. Both dry eyes and excessive tears result from allergens’ stimulation of your tear glands. Antihistamines, decongestants and NSAIDs reduce redness, controlling the symptom without addressing the cause. Ask your doctor about products containing mast cell stabilizers, which work almost the same way antihistamines work, but they provide more long-lasting relief. Exercise caution about using eye drops too often, because your eyes may become dependent on the vaso-constrictors in the drops. After protracted use of eye drops, stopping them may trigger “rebound hyperemia,” making the blood vessels in your eyes bigger than they were when allergens irritated them.

    • Prescription eye-drops. Just as cortico-steroids rapidly, powerfully reduce nasal and lung congestion, so they quickly relieve eye irritation. However, steroids can cause serious side-effects; they can increase inner-eye pressure, damaging the optic nerve, contributing to glaucoma, or clouding the eyes’ lenses and producing cataracts. Discuss the risks and benefits with your physician, and consider safer alternatives before resorting to cortico-steroids.

    Of course, tough talk and sage advice sound really good until your symptoms become so miserable you just want to embubble yourself somewhere dust and pollen cannot penetrate. Allergists reluctantly agree all the prevention and medication known to humankind sometimes cannot match the relief you find staying indoors where air conditioning filters and cools the air so you can breathe and see clearly.

    Guest author Sara Roberts is a content contributor for Just Eyewear, an online retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses.

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    Experts Claim Autistic Children may benefit from a Gluten-Free Diet

    Recent research has suggested that a gluten and casein-free diet can result in behavioural and physiological improvements for children with autism spectrum disorder.

    The research, carried out by Penn State College of Medicine, discovered that autistic children with gastrointestinal symptoms experienced an improvement in behaviour when following a gluten and casein-free diet (casein being the protein found in milk and other such dairy products).
    Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder were asked about their child’s gastrointestinal symptoms, food allergies and diet.

    It was discovered that children with autism spectrum disorder who follow a gluten and casein-free diet had notably improved gastrointestinal symptoms. Other behavioural symptoms also seemed to show improvement when compared to children whose gluten and casein intake was not depleted.

    The experts suggest that gluten and casein-derived peptides cause an immune response in children with ASD, with others proposing that the peptides could very well trigger gastrointestinal symptoms and behavioural problems.

    Parents who only implement this diet on their child for 6 months less, however, will find that the diet is less beneficial. This will also apply to parents who only eliminate either gluten or casein from their child’s diet and not both.

    It is also possible that there are other proteins, such as soy, that are problematic for children with autism spectrum disorder.

    Despite these positive findings, researchers admitted that more research needed to be done. Whilst some individuals and parents of children with autism report benefits from following special diets such as these, caution should still be exercised as there has not been enough scientific research investigating the link between autism and food intolerances, with benefits ranging from individual to individual.

    Parents should exercise caution when thinking about changing their autistic child’s diet, asking themselves whether the invention is for the symptoms or actually providing their child with a better quality of life.

    Casein-free foods consist of the milk protein casein being removed from dairy products, whilst gluten-free foods contain no wheat, barley, rye, oats or other such food products made from grains.
    In children with gastrointestinal problems, ‘casomorphines’ can reduce the desire for social ineractions, block pain messages and encourage confusion. Milk proteins can be a key source of these casomoprhines, The idea is that by eliminating them, autism spectrum disorder may improve as a result.

    Written by Dane Cross on behalf of Autism Care UK.

    Need more detailed help? Check out my Healthy Eating for Children with Autism Online Course