Sally Witt

The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

How to Ease Your Allergies!
It’s that time of year again. The sun is a little higher in the sky, the temperatures are inching up, the trees and shrubs are leafing out, and it won’t be long until many people find themselves staying indoors with the windows shut because of seasonal allergies. If you think your allergies are getting worse every year, it’s probably not your imagination. Scientists say the carbon dioxide from fossil fuel emissions cause plants to produce more pollen. As our air quality deteriorates, allergies get worse as well.

Fifty million Americans are estimated to have allergies. This means that a great number of people live with certain lifestyle ‘limitations’ because of an adverse reaction by the immune system to foreign substances. There is no apparent medical reason why people contract allergies, but one thing is certain – the condition is indiscriminate in its coverage and may affect us regardless of age, gender, or race. Commonly, however, the allergy manifests in our infancy or childhood, although some symptoms may appear at any age or may reappear after any period of apparent inactivity.

There is often a stress component to allergies, and it’s not unusual for people to look back at the onset of allergies and realize it was an especially stressful time in their lives. This makes intuitive sense, because we know that stress depletes immune system functioning.

When allergies come to the fore, we usually say it has been ‘triggered’, implying that the body has been exposed to a ‘trigger’ that activated the allergy from within. These ‘triggers’, or potential allergens, may be animal dander, feathers, mites, house dust, insect stings, chemicals (like perfumes, cosmetics, shampoos and soaps) and dyes, medication, synthetic fiber, and a huge variety of food and drinks. Of course pollens, weeds, grasses, and trees are the most common seasonal allergens and also the most common allergens overall in our population.

An allergen is a type of antigen – a particle which the body recognizes as foreign and attacks it via its own biological machineries. In the event of an allergy, our immune system, which normally wards off unwanted foreign substances in our bodies like parasites, bacteria, and dirt, mistakenly identifies common harmless objects as outsiders that are sure to do some dreadful damage and must therefore be destroyed. It then releases antibodies that cause bodily manifestations or “symptoms.” That’s what’s known as a “histamine response.” The result is tissue swelling, runny nose, rash, hives, watery or itchy eyes, and sneezing.

Not all individuals react the same to the same substances. While some may only develop slight symptoms, the same allergen exposure might be life-threatening for others. Current research at the Medical College of Georgia, Section of Allergy and Immunology shows that children who grow up with dogs and cats, typical allergic sources, have significantly less allergic tendencies than children who don’t have any pets at home. This may be because they have been desensitized by having a common antigen (pet dander) constantly in their environment.

Around 7 to 10% of children experience some degree of asthma, and current statistics show an increasing number of sufferers. Asthma does not seem to be an inherited disease since a family member, who apparently do not have relatives exhibiting the symptoms of the disease, can be affected at any time should, he or she is exposed to environmental factors triggering the onset of the disease. People with this medical condition have a very sensitive bronchial pathway. Presence of molecules or particles recognized by the body as foreign can set off an asthma attack.

Allergic rhinitis, more commonly known as “hay fever,” happens when you breathe in something you are allergic to. The inside of your nose becomes inflamed or swollen.
When this happens, the body’s immune system overreacts to specific particles such as plant pollens, molds, dust mites, animal hair, industrial chemicals, tobacco smoke, foods, medicines, and even insect venom.

Allergic rhinitis affects 40 million people in the United States and is an extremely common condition, affecting approximately 20% of the population. While allergic rhinitis is not a life-threatening condition, complications can occur and the condition can impair one’s quality of life leading to a number of indirect costs. Recently, the total direct and indirect cost of allergic rhinitis was estimated at around $5 billion annually.

Signs of allergic rhinitis are similar to signs of a common cold. But, unlike symptoms for the common cold, allergic rhinitis can last for more than 8-10 days. Symptoms include:
stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, itchy or watery nose, itchy or watery eyes, coughing (caused by clear mucus running down the back of the throat), feeling of a ‘permanent cold’ that never goes away, headaches and earache, constant sore throats and postnasal drip, sleep disturbances and snoring, loss of taste and smell, and poor concentration. Children who have allergic rhinitis might have dark circles under their eyes known as Allergic shiners” (related to nasal congestion).

There are a variety of ways to address the problem of allergies. Generally, pollen counts are highest during early morning hours (5 to 10 am.). Wearing a dust mask during lawn and garden work will help. Planning outdoor activities like hiking or camping to avoid seasons with high pollen count is useful, as is taking frequent showers or baths to remove pollen from hair and skin as soon as you come indoors. Showering before bed will also help keep contaminants out of your bedding.

Using car and home air conditioning and keeping windows closed will help prevent seasonal allergies. Circulating air with window or attic fans is not recommended since it will increase indoor pollen levels. Over-the-counter antihistamines and nose sprays can help at first, but they can have a number of unpleasant side effects such as making you feel tired and drowsy, while nasal sprays can have a rebound effect that makes your stuffiness worse. Physician-prescribed nose sprays and antihistamines are different types of medication and are very helpful for controlling long-term symptoms.

Your doctor may talk to you about allergy shots if your allergy symptoms are very bad and if they happen for most of the year. You can also consider this if you are constantly around the allergens and if in spite medicines, you are still symptomatic. Allergy shots help how your body handles allergens by injecting small amounts of the substances causing your allergy. Over the period of the therapy, which may take years, your body may learn to accept the allergen without overreacting to it, although this does not work for everyone.

A lot of people are now turning to natural remedies to resolve allergy problems, including Ayurvedic Medicine, acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, biofeedback, bodywork, Buteyko (a type of breathing to help asthmatics), flower essences, herbology, homeopathy, naturopathy, and energy medicine. I have been very successful in my practice addressing and usually eliminating allergies with various energy techniques including acupressure and NMT (the Neuromodulation Technique). Properly treated, allergies need not affect your life in any significant manner, and you can get back to the business of enjoying the beautiful weather!

Dr. Bowers is a medical psychologist in Villanova and semi-regular contributor to Yoga Living. You can contact her at: 610-520-0443, leebowers@comcast.net, or www.drleebowers.com.