It's Allergies Season Again !!!

What nasal allergies are

When you have nasal allergies, you're more sensitive than others to certain substances. These substances are usually considered harmless, such as pollen or mold. They cause an allergic reaction in your nose, eyes, and sinuses, triggering symptoms such as stuffiness, itching, runny nose, and watery eyes.

How nasal allergies are diagnosed

Doctors diagnose nasal allergies by:

• what you tell them about your allergy symptoms
• what you tell them about your medical history
• a physical exam that may include tests to identify the substances to which you are allergic

How nasal allergies are treated

There are three main approaches to treating nasal allergies:

• avoidance, where you try to stay away from the substances that trigger allergies
• medications, which you take to either treat or prevent allergy symptoms
• immunotherapy, where you receive injections that can help you become less sensitive to the substances causing allergic reactions

Is your nose sometimes stuffy or runny? Do you sneeze and itch? Do your allergy symptoms get worse in the early spring or late summer or fall? Do you feel like you have frequent colds that just won't go away?

Your "cold" may not be a cold at all. It may be nasal allergies, also called hay fever, chronic nasal allergy, or allergic rhinitis. These are allergies that affect your nose, eyes, ears, and throat. They can occur seasonally or year-round.

The good news is nasal allergies can be treated, and you can feel better.

Here is what some people have said about having nasal allergies.

"Since I've gotten help with my nasal allergy, my life is easier and happier. I can work and enjoy my family a lot more." Oleta

"I can get through my day without problems now, thanks to my medication. I used to be miserable all the time." Susan

"I could hardly function with the sinus pressure, headaches, ear and throat pain, coughing, and nose blowing. I couldn't breathe." Cassandra

Managing Allergies and Allergic Reactions

How you can make a difference

• Learn what causes your allergic reactions and how to avoid your allergy triggers.
• Develop strategies for keeping your environment as allergen-free as it can be.
• Keep track of which medicines work best to prevent and relieve your symptoms and take them at the appropriate time.
• Develop healthy habits that ensure good nutrition, plenty of exercise, and adequate rest.
• Develop strategies for working effectively with your doctor and for sticking with your treatment plan.
• Get support from others who know how miserable it can be to suffer with nasal allergies.

There is much you can do to gain control over your nasal allergies. In fact, when it comes to the most effective treatment for nasal allergies, you are your own best provider. That's because the first step in controlling nasal allergies is avoiding those things that trigger them. By learning now what you can do to help yourself, you will soon be able to take charge of your life rather than letting your allergies control you. You will also be able to work more effectively with your doctor to control your symptoms.

Allergies and Immune System

Your immune system is your body's defense system against invading agents, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites. These agents are called antigens. White blood cells are our main defense against these antigens. Your body makes many different types of white blood cells that work 24 hours a day to keep you healthy.

One important type of white blood cell is a lymphocyte. These are made in the marrow of your bones. You may have as many as 2 trillion lymphocytes in your bloodstream at any one time. Two major types of lymphocytes involved in protecting the body against invaders are T lymphocyte cells and B lymphocyte cells. T lymphocyte cells destroy cells that have been infected or damaged by the antigens. B lymphocytes are found in immunity-related organs such as the lymph nodes. They direct the making of immunoglobulin E, called IgE. IgE is a special disease-fighting protein known as an antibody. It binds to an antigen in your body, such as bacteria, rendering it harmless.

Antibodies such as IgE are very specific. Much like a lock-and-key system, they only work on particular antigens. If, for instance, a flu virus enters your body, special flu antibodies attack it. Each time you're exposed to a new invading agent, or antigen, your body creates different antibodies to fight it.

How Allergic Reactions Develop

When you have nasal allergies, your body sees harmless substances, including pollen, mold, or pet dander, as dangerous invaders. Your immune system immediately goes into action, releasing IgE. Each of these IgE antibodies is made especially for the particular type of allergen. For instance, the body produces one type of IgE antibody for ragweed pollen and another type for oak pollen.

The IgE antibodies attach tightly to the membrane of your body's mast cells and a kind of blood cell known as basophils. Thus the allergen, the IgE antibody, and the mast cell or basophil form a complex. The basophils circulate in the bloodstream and gather in the tissues of your nose, skin, stomach, and lungs. The mast cells remain stationary. The next time these complexes come in contact with the same allergen, the mast cells or basophils release powerful chemicals, called histamines, to fight the invader.

Histamines cause:

• smooth muscles to relax. These are in your lungs, stomach lining, and other areas.
• your blood vessels to open up, causing more blood to flow
• fluids containing more defensive chemicals to flow more easily from your bloodstream into individual cells

As the small blood vessels in your nose widen, fluids leak out into the surrounding tissues, causing the runny nose, watery eyes, itching, swelling, and other symptoms of nasal allergies.

This entire process is called the allergic inflammatory response. It's an effective way to fight invading agents. Unfortunately, when the agent is harmless, it's a wasted effort that only results in misery for you.

Source of Information

Written by Karen Serrano, MD
Emergency Medicine resident at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Reviewed by Lisa V. Suffian, MD
Instructor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Pulmonary Medicine at Saint Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine
Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, Saint Louis University
Board certified in Allergy and Immunology

Here are some natural products shown in recent scientific research to protect and enhance your allergies health

Drinking lots of water is vital to keeping your allergies in check.  It is recommended that an adult human should consume about 32 oz of water minimum per day.  Having a 8 oz glass of water 4 times a day is also the recommended way.

Proanthenols is a super antioxidant which contains real antioxidant protection based upon 50+ years of research by Dr. Jack Masquelier and Berkem Laboratories in Southern France.  Proanthenols is best for overall nutritional support and protection! Proanthenols provide additional nutritional support to help maintain healthy elastin throughout your whole body.

Vitamin C Plus is known to be nature's own detoxifier, antioxidant and antihistamine. It protects against dangerous free radicals and is an important systemic anti-aging nutrient. Vitamin C is a natural chelating agent, thereby protecting us against pollution and poisoning of heavy metals such as that from Mercury, Lead and Cadmium. Not only does it protect us from the lead in automobile exhaust, it also protects us from carbon monoxide.

Cat’s Claw Plus contains cat’s claw (una de gato), which is from South America, along with other herbs that provide nutritional support to the immune, digestive and reproductive systems. Each of these systems can use additional nutritional support since they are greatly affected by stress. Unfortunately, few of us enjoy a life that’s stress-free.

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