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Can Allergies Make You Feel Foggy

Do Allergies Make You Tired All You Need To Know About Allergy Fatigue

#1 Hidden Cause of Brain Fog and Fatigue

If you are one of those who experience allergies, you might have encountered some awkward situations. It may have been constant coughing in the movies or rashes on your skin immediately after eating certain foods. Or rather, you kept sneezing in a beautiful flower garden at a picnic. Allergies are not only embarrassing to handle but also a burden.

One in five Americans is diagnosed with allergies, making it the 6th leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S. Although many think allergies are very easy to handle, statistics prove otherwise. More than 50% of those with allergies say allergies do impact the quality of their life.

Allergies can manifest in many ways. One of the most common complaints of those suffering from allergies is, I feel drained after an allergic reaction. Can allergies make you tired? So, if youre looking for an answer to that, this article has everything you need to know about allergy fatigue.

Table of Content

  • 12 Conclusion
  • Injuries Wisdom Teeth And Trapped Nerves:

    It has recently been substantiated that pinched nerves can also cause brain fog. Don’t ignore any aches, or pains as it may be a pinched nerve and may be the cause. This nerve pain also exists behind your wisdom teeth. The pain is causing your brain cells to focus on the pain instead of the task at hand. Ultimately, brain cells, or neurons, dont communicate well with each other to focus on the task at hand. This causes brain function to slow down and diminish, giving you brain fog.

    What Are The Symptoms Of Fall Allergies

    • Watery, itchy, or generally irritated eyes
    • Runny nose or nasal congestion
    • Sneezing
    • Aggravated asthma symptoms, including coughing or wheezing
    • In severe cases, trouble breathing or anaphylaxis

    Its important to note that fall allergy symptoms overlap with the common cold, flu, or COVID-19. One distinguishing factor for allergies: They do not cause a fever.

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    Eye Allergies Cloudy Vision And Itchy Eyes

    These symptoms can often occur simultaneously. Symptoms may persist. When perception is distorted, disorientation and dizziness can also result, especially in the elderly. Treatment options are dependent on the cause. If you are experiencing cloudy vision and itchy eyes, book an appointment to see your doctor.

    Brain Fog And Vision Problems

    Are Your Allergies Making You Tired?  The Herb Cottage

    Common vision problems our patients report are blurry vision, difficulty focusing or reading, light sensitivity, and problems with peripheral vision, among others. Patients might not experience these problems all the time. They might only notice them after trying to use a computer or after reading for awhile, for example.

    Vision tasks require a huge amount of brain function, and if any of the areas of the brain that are involved in that process arent functioning correctly, the brains energy is going to be rapidly depleted. These problems can also induce other post-concussion symptoms such as dizziness, feelings of overwhelm, and headaches.

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    Gluten And Rheumatoid Arthritis

    With rheumatoid arthritis , your immune system attacks joint tissue commonly found in your hands, wrists, and knees. Swelling and inflammation occur, which leads to joint tissue damage. The tissue damage ultimately causes chronic pain, stiffness, and sometimes deformity.

    Several studies have linked RA with celiac disease. And researchers have even suggested that it may start in the gut and be triggered by food antigens, such as gluten.

    In this case report, a 50-year old man presented with chronic diarrhea for two months. He also lost weight and his feet and legs were swollen. Antibodies for gluten proteins were found in his blood and damage to the lining of his small intestine was confirmed.

    The patient was diagnosed with celiac disease and treated with a gluten-free diet. After three months, his initial symptoms improved significantly. However, he soon started to experience pain in his joints and laboratory tests confirmed he had RA.

    In this study, 42 children with juvenile RA were tested for celiac disease even though they didnt have the usual symptoms. And it turned out that almost 43% of the group had antibodies for gluten proteins in their blood, which means their immune systems were reacting to gluten.

    Sixteen of the children with gluten protein antibodies had intestinal biopsies performed and celiac disease was confirmed in all cases. So the children were treated with a gluten-free diet, which reduced their joint-related symptoms as well as improved their growth.

    Gluten Is Connected To Many Forms Of Autoimmune Arthritis

    Can gluten cause muscle and joint pain? For genetically susceptible individuals, the intestinal damage caused by gluten in combination with an overactive immune system and chronic state of inflammation leads to celiac disease.

    Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition that causes your immune system to attack your intestines, which creates even more damage and inflammation. But as I mentioned, the inflammatory effects arent limited to your gut. Which is why celiac disease is associated with many other autoimmune conditions. And several of them cause your immune system to attack your muscles and joints, which causes pain.

    Recommended Reading: Does A Gluten Allergy Cause A Rash

    Congestion Can Cause Brain Fog

    A stuffy, swollen nose can make it difficult to think clearly, often causing a hazy or tried feeling. Many have termed this feeling brain fog, and it results from the congestion and pressure in your nasal and sinus air passages. Without treating allergy symptoms, and sometimes contributing sinus issues, the inflammation, irritation, and runny nose at the root of this issue will keep making you feel foggy.

    Why Seasonal Allergies Cause ‘brain Fog’

    Allergy Myth #4: Allergies Can’t Make You Feel Like You Have a Cold

    Shutterstock

    The spring allergy season is upon us. Pollen counts are skyrocketing, sinuses are swelling, and for some of us other symptoms are creeping in as well. If youve experienced a brain fog characterized by dizziness, imbalance and fatigue during allergy season and wondered about the connection between the pollen youre inhaling and the mental murkiness, youre not alone. Science has been working the case, and although we dont have a clear picture just yet, were beginning to understand more about what happens in our brains when pollen is in the wind.

    The basics of this story involve allergens and the immune system. If youre among the 30% or so of the population with seasonal allergies, your body responds to allergens as an assault and your immune system reacts by producing histamines, compounds that cause muscle contractions and blood vessel dilation. Later into the reaction, your body releases proteins called cytokines that signal the surrounding tissue to brace against the offenders.

    All of this plus the activity of a few more chemicals results in inflammation, which we feel in our sinuses, nasal membranes, throats, eyes and lungs. Some of us are more sensitive to particular allergens , and the severity of reactions varies, from annoying to life threatening.

    You can also try avoiding what sets you off , but for most allergy sufferers thats not much of an option.

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    Is Your Brain Fog From Post

    A patient tries Dynavision, a board with concentric rings of buttons that light up depending on the therapy routine.

    If youre still experiencing brain fog months after a concussion, this is a sign that some area of your brain is malfunctioning. The longer it continues, the more a vicious cycle of negative consequences is ingrained.

    Frequently, patients who come to us for post-concussion syndrome treatment have been to many health care providers and clinics, but they havent gotten the results theyd hoped for. Or they werent taken seriously at all.

    Patients often tell us about doctors who ordered an MRI or CT scan to check for more serious brain damage and found nothing. Since they didnt have a severe traumatic brain injury , patients were told they were fine.

    But the reality is that those tests typically wont show concussion damage. Just because they didnt show anything doesnt mean your symptoms arent real.

    At Cognitive FX, we evaluate and treat our patients holistically through our EPIC Treatment program. We look at the results of each patients functional Neurocognitive Imaging scan a test that can show concussion dysfunction to design a treatment plan for that individuals specific areas of injury. We use multidisciplinary cognitive and physical therapies to treat the core causes of symptoms, and we give patients the tools to continue their recovery at home.

    To learn more about diagnosis and treatment options, sign up for a free consultation.

    How Food Allergies Can Cause Brain Fog

    If you have brain fog after eating a certain food, you may be allergic to it.

    Heres a list of the top allergenic foods known as The Big 8:

    • dairy

    And while the foods in the top 8 list account for 90% of food allergies, its possible to be allergic to almost any food.

    Some people are allergic to just one specific meat, fruit, vegetable, seed, and even spice.

    Recommended Reading: How To Sleep Better With Allergies

    How To Treat It

    Brain fog treatment depends on the cause.

    For example, if youre anemic, iron supplements may increase your production of red blood cells and reduce your brain fog. If youre diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, your doctor may recommend a corticosteroid or other medication to reduce inflammation or suppress the immune system.

    Sometimes, relieving brain fog is a matter of correcting a nutritional deficiency, switching medications, or improving the quality of your sleep.

    Home remedies to improve brain fog include:

    • sleeping 8 to 9 hours per night
    • managing stress by knowing your limitations and avoiding excessive alcohol and caffeine
    • exercising

    Why Do Allergies Cause Brain Fog

    Can Allergies Make You Tired?

    Q. When I have allergies or a cold, I find it difficult to think. How does sinus congestion affect the brain?

    A. The short answer is no one really knows why people often report feeling fuzzy headed when they have allergies or a cold.

    Its not something you could demonstrate on a test or scan, said Dr. Richard Lebowitz, a rhinologist and otolaryngologist at NYU Langone Medical Center.

    But the condition is real. Children with untreated allergies perform worse in school than others, research has found, in part because allergies can interrupt sleep and make children feel tired, but other factors may be involved as well. Young students grades improve when their allergies are treated with nonsedating, long-acting medication, studies suggest.

    The thought is allergies are essentially inflammation in the nose and sinuses, said Dr. Mark Aronica, an allergist at the Cleveland Clinic. This inflammation triggers the release of proteins called cytokines as part of the immune response.

    The same process happens when you have a cold. These cytokines are there to help fight infection, and also have an impact on our ability to think and function and perform, Dr. Aronica said. The result is that people with allergies or a bad cold often feel as if they are seeing the world through cheesecloth.

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    You Have Unexplained Migraines

    If you deal with annoying migraines after partaking in, say, a delicious cheese platter, it may be the dairy that’s to blame. As Dr. Mark Khorsandi tells Bustle, “Dairy is actually included as one of the âdirty dozenâ when it comes to headache and migraine triggers.” It’s all thanks to a bad reaction in your nerves, which can manifest a few hours or days after dairy is consumed.

    Consider Keeping Pets Out Of The Bedroom

    Having pets on the bed can be an issue even if this isnt your primary allergy, since pets can have dust, pollen or other allergens clinging to their fur when they enter the room. Those with a pet dander allergy should strongly consider keeping pets off of the bed or out of the bedroom to make sleeping easier without allergy symptoms.

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    Your Skin Is Breaking Out

    If you take great care of your skin, but still can’t seem to tame your zits, it may be due to inflammation caused by dairy. As board certified doctor of medical aesthetics Dr. Yelena Yeretsky tells me, this is often due to the hormones found in many milk products, as well as the additives and antibiotics. “These different hormones/additives are foreign to the body so when they enter, the body tries to protect itself … causing all of the effects,” she says.

    Brain Fog And Fatigue

    Seasonal Allergies: Fact or Fiction with Dr. Jeff Millstein

    Fatigue is almost always associated with brain fog. It can be hard to figure out where its coming from because there are so many possible causes. Both physical and mental fatigue can contribute to brain fog.

    Fatigue From Poor Sleep Quality

    Sleep problems are a very common source of fatigue and brain fog. Some of our patients suffer from hypersomnia, meaning they sleep more than 12 hours per day but still feel tired during the day. Others suffer from insomnia.

    The short explanation for this is that several areas of the brain need to work together to induce restorative sleep. If one area is not working right, often the thalamus, then the process is constantly disrupted. You might spend a lot of time in bed, but youre going to wake up tired, and your cognitive function is not going to be great. Many of our patients find themselves needing to take long naps every day just to try to clear their heads or get through the day.

    Sleep apnea can also arise as a result of a brain injury. People with sleep apnea stop breathing periodically during the night. Brain injury can also cause changes in our breathing. Instead of diaphragmatic breathing , many post-concussive patients do more breathing from the chest.

    Fight or Flight Response

    Sometimes after a brain injury, the sympathetic nervous system stays hyperactivated, resulting in the feeling of constantly being on high alert. This uses a lot of energy and is going to cause fatigue.

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    What Happens During An Allergic Reaction

    When your immune cells encounter an allergen, they produce a type of antibody called gE antibodies. These antibodies activate the mast cells a type of white blood cell to release histamines. Histamines are the mediators of an allergic reaction that cause inflammation.

    This exaggerated immune response in allergies brings about many cellular and chemical changes in the body that result in various symptoms.

    Can Allergies Make You Tired Top Tips For Managing Allergy Fatigue

    If youâre one of the many people who experience allergies, you may have suffered through common symptoms like itchy eyes and skin, nasal congestion, and/or watery eyes. You may have even found yourself feeling tiredâso if youâre wondering if allergies can make you tired, the answer is âyes,â allergies cause fatigue in some cases.

    There are many ways that having allergies can impact your energy levels and cause you to feel tired. In fact, thereâs even a name for fatigue caused by allergiesâ”brain fogââwhich can make it difficult to carry out everyday tasks or function at your best.

    Looking to learn more about the relationship between allergies and fatigue? Read on or skip to our infographic to understand why your allergies may be making you tired and learn tips for combating sleeplessness.

    Recommended Reading: What Is The Difference Between Food Allergy And Food Intolerance

    What Can You Do

    Unless you’re prepared to settle down in a bunker, there’s no way to avoid the weather. But you can work around it and reduce your allergy symptoms.

    • Pay attention to the weather. Check local pollen and mold counts. Watch for Ozone Action Days. Spend less time outside when you’re likely to have problems.
    • Prepare for allergies. If you have the same allergy at the same time every year — ragweed in the fall or tree pollen in the spring — get ahead of it. Ask your doctor if you can start taking allergy drugs about 2 weeks before you usually start sneezing, coughing, or itching. That way, you can stop them before they start.
    • Control your environment. You can’t change what’s happening outside, but you do have some control over conditions in your house. Use air conditioning to filter out mold and pollen. Use a dehumidifier to ward off mold growth and dust mites.
    • Get the right diagnosis. Donât just guess whatâs causing your allergies. See your doctor to have an allergy skin test, which can show you exactly what triggers your symptoms. When you get the results, you might consider asking about immunotherapy, such as allergy shots or tablets that go under your tongue. They can help keep your allergies under control no matter what the weather or the season.

    American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology: “Pollen ” “Outdoor Allergens: Tips to Remember ” “Ragweed Allergy ” and “Dust Allergy Management.”

    Food Allergies Intolerance And Reactions

    Allergies Can Make You Tired

    If a specific food makes you feel ill, the reaction could be an allergy, an intolerance or some other kind of reaction. Many people label all negative reactions to food as allergies. After all, the end result is the same whether you have an allergy or an intolerance to a certain food: you must avoid the food that triggers your reaction.

    However, the reactions inside the body are different, and lead to varying symptoms. The Mayo Clinic reports that the most common food allergy symptoms are:

    • Itching and tingling in the mouth
    • Dizziness and fainting
    • Itchy skin, associates with hives or eczema
    • Abdominal discomfort, including diarrhea and vomiting
    • Swelling in the mouth, throat or other parts of the body
    • Difficulty breathing, including wheezing and nasal congestion
    • Anaphylaxis, which is life threatening

    As such, you are not likely to experience a food allergy with fever, headache and fatigue. Instead, such symptoms may be signs of intolerances, other underlying disorders, or contaminated food.

    ?Read More:?10 Facts You Need to Know About Food Allergies

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