Tips For Coping With Allergies Here are some general tips to help you and other family members cope with pollen allergies. Try to stay indoors during peak pollen hours: usually 5 am to 10 am. After you've been outside, change your clothes (but not in your bedroom) and take a quick shower. Pollen from the air can collect on your clothes and hair. Have children change clothes when they come in from playing outside. Shower and wash your hair every night to remove pollen. Don't line-dry clothes. Pets who live both indoors and outdoors should be bathed often. Keep windows in home closed. Monitor pollen counts and adjust outdoor activities accordingly. Dry, windy days, especially after a rain, can be particularly high in pollen. Use air conditioning and change filters often. Cover air conditioning vents with filters. Reduce the time you spend mowing the lawn (which stirs up both pollen and mold spores) and raking leaves (which stirs up mold spores). If you must mow the lawn, wear a mask to filter out pollen and mold spores. When driving, keep windows rolled up and use your air conditioner (set on recirculate) to reduce pollen exposure. In addition to following these guidelines, make sure you are getting proper treatment to reduce the impact of pollen. Many allergy sufferers have treatment plans that include inhaled nasal corticosteroids and nonsedating antihistamines available by prescription only for an itchy, runny nose and sneezing, often combined with a decongestant for a stuffy nose. Top About Allergies Simply put, an allergy is a response by your body to something that is ordinarily harmless. The purpose of the immune system is to recognize harmful infection-causing invaders and to get rid of them. However, for some people, the immune system overreacts to ordinarily harmless substances like pet dander, pollen, dust, and mold. These people have "allergies." Their bodies attempt to expel these ordinarily harmless substances (called "allergens"), causing sneezing; a runny nose; and itchy, watery eyes. Top How allergies develop Why do you develop allergies? Nobody knows for sure, although the tendency to develop allergies can be inherited from your parents. Scientists do know how a person develops allergies. The first thing that happens is you are exposed to a particular substancefor example, pollen from a ragweed plant. This substance makes its way to your nose, where your immune system detects it and, considering it a harmful invader, creates antibodies to fight that particular substance. These antibodies stay in your system, prepared for the next time they encounter that same allergen. Top The histamine connection The next time you breathe ragweed pollen in - and every time after that - your body will manufacture more antibodies to fight it off. The antibodies stimulate cells ("mast cells") in the linings of your nose, eyes, throat, and lungs to release a chemical known as histamine. Histamine attaches to nearby blood vessels, causing them to redden, swell, and secrete more fluid than usual. Histamine can also irritate nearby nerve endings, causing itching. Ultimately, histamine causes symptoms such as sneezing; itchy, watery eyes, and a runny nose. These symptoms are simply your body's attempt to expel the pollen it wrongly assumes is dangerous. Top Seasonal allergies Nearly 44 million Americans have some form of allergy. Seasonal allergies affect about 20 million Americans. For these people, symptoms come and go with the pollination seasons of certain trees, grasses, or weeds. Pollen levels from these plants can vary day to day, depending upon several factors, including the weather. High pollen levels can, in turn, affect the severity of symptoms. Top Allergic rhinitis The term "allergic rhinitis," when translated, literally means "inflammation of the nose." (The term "rhinitis" is derived by combining the Greek word for nose ("rhinos") with the term "itis," which means inflammation.) Seasonal allergic rhinitis has also been referred to as "hay fever," which is very misleading considering the fact that it has nothing to do with hay or a fever. Dr. John Bostock, a British physician who suffered from allergies and noted a correlation between his symptoms and the British haying season, coined the term in the early 1800s. Top Perennial allergies When allergy symptoms are caused by year-round allergens, the condition is termed "perennial rhinitis." Some common causes of perennial allergies include dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, and cockroaches. If you suffer from allergies, it is important to keep in mind that your symptoms may be caused by more than one substanceor a mixture of both perennial and seasonal allergens. In fact, that's why it can be tricky to avoid the things that trigger your allergies Top Disclaimer The information on this site is intended for reference purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical examination. The product data on this site is for information purposes only and is not intended to describe or make claims about the safety or efficacy of any product. For detailed information, please see product information or dispensing information included with each product. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment. Information on this site should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Owners of Idios Ent. are not liable for any misuse of medicine purchased through Idios Ent.. 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