How Allergies Affect Your Mood And Energy Level
Many studies have shown that people with allergic rhinitis not only suffer from symptoms such as sneezing, nasal congestion, and itchy eyes and nose, but from non-nasal symptoms, such as fatigue and depression as well.
Allergic rhinitis can make it harder to concentrate at work or school and affect your energy level and sleeping habits.
Unfortunately, some of these “extra-nasal” symptoms are more difficult to treat than the allergies themselves. Some of the major ones are:
- Fatigue
- Cognitive Effects
Are There Ways To Reduce Your Allergy Exposure
Here are several ways to minimize your exposure to seasonal allergies:
- Pay attention to daily pollen and mold spore levels, so you can avoid outdoor activities as much as possible when counts are high. To check out the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunologys allergen tracker, .
- Begin taking medications before the start of the allergy seasonwhen pollen, grass, ragweed, or mold counts soar.
- Shut the windows and doors in your home, office, and car to seal out pollen.
- Wear a hat when outdoors or wash your hair before bed to keep pollen off your pillow and away from your face.
- Change your clothes after spending time outdoors to minimize your exposure to pollen. Studies show that half of the pollen that accumulates on clothing remains even if you try to shake or brush it off before you go indoors.
- Avoid mowing the grass or raking moldy leaves if those are your triggers, or wear a mask when doing so.
Schedule An Appointment With An Allergist Expert
You dont have to lay in bed whenever allergic reactions strike you down. Manhattan Medical Arts has expert physicians on board who can help you curb your allergy symptoms and can also help you figure out what you may be allergic to. Schedule an appointment in order to visit our board-certified physician or receive medical consultation online.
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Will Allergies Make You Tired
Yes, allergies can make you feel tired. Aside from the typical allergy symptoms like runny nose, other symptoms like fatigue, difficulty breathing and sinus pain can also be due to allergies.
1. Immune System Reactions
Many individuals are not aware that symptoms like tiredness, irritability, and moodiness may be due to seasonal allergies. How could that happen? Experts explain that allergies can cause immune system reactions that affect your energy levels, including your moods. It can make you feel too tired to get out of bed and make you feel irritable.
Allergens that trigger your immune system reactions cause the release of chemicals called histamines. These substances can slow down your brain function and make you feel moody and depressed. They can also cause sleep disturbance, resulting in excessive daytime fatigue. Sleep is often disturbed when people experience nasal stuffiness and difficulty breathing, which are also common symptoms of allergies. Thus, seasonal allergies have been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome.
2. Allergy Medications Also Matter
Can allergies make you tired? Yes and the culprits are not limited to allergy itself. The medications you are taking to relieve your symptoms may also be contributing to your extreme tiredness. Many over-the-counter anti-allergy medications contain anti-histamines like diphenhydramine hydrochloride, which have sedating properties. This ingredient can be found in many cold medications.
How To Treat Fatigue Caused By Allergies
If allergies are truly the source of your fatigue, treating the allergies is the best way to treat the fatigue. An ENT specialist or allergist can help you determine or confirm the root cause of your issues. After conducting an allergy test in the office or at home to diagnose your allergies, consider which allergy treatment option may work best to treat your fatigue and eliminate other symptoms.
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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.
How Are Seasonal Allergies Treated
Seasonal allergies are treated in a variety of ways. Most often, over-the-counter or prescription antihistamines help suppress the bodys immune response, providing relief from symptoms. Decongestants can be used to relieve congestion. Over-the-counter cough medications are commonly recommended as well.
For people who need additional relief, antihistamine or steroidal nose sprays can be prescribed by your doctor. These help calm the bodys immune response to seasonal airborne allergens.
If you need more specialized care, your doctor may recommend allergen immunotherapy. This helps your immune system build up a tolerance against an allergen by exposing you to the irritant in small doses. Allergen immunotherapy can be given in two ways:
- Subcutaneous injections: Once your doctor determines what youre allergic to, she administers a series of shots containing those specific allergens. The shots are given in the doctors office over many months or years, usually in the arm.
- Sublingual immunotherapy: As an alternative to injections, you can try prescription tablets or drops that dissolve under the tongue . Sublingual immunotherapy is only available for grass and ragweed allergies, however.
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Allergies And Dizziness: The Cause And The Treatment
If youre feeling dizzy, you might be wondering whats causing it. Dehydration, medications, and a variety of conditions can cause you to feel dizzy and nauseated.
While dizziness might seem like a mild condition, it can actually be very disruptive to daily life. It can even be so severe that it leaves you stuck in bed for hours or days.
Dizziness can sometimes be caused by allergies.
An allergy is the immune systems response to a foreign substance thats not typically harmful to your body. These foreign substances are called allergens. They may include certain foods, pollen, or pet dander.
Allergy-related nasal and sinus congestion can lead to dizziness or a more severe type of dizziness called vertigo.
Why And How Allergies Can Make You Tired
The ragweed is in bloom or you visited a friend with a cat, and now your allergies are leaving you so exhausted youre dragging around all day. No, the gravitational force on Earth has not increased. It could be your allergies. But why and how can your allergies make you tired?
When you have an allergic reaction, your body releases proteins called proinflammatory cytokines, which are designed to neutralize invading particles, including allergens like pollen, pet dander, and mold. Researchers believe that cytokines act on the central nervous system, and prompt leukocytes and other cells to secrete IL-1 beta , a hormone-like substance that can make you feel lethargic and depress your mood. Perhaps fatigue from the inflammatory process is your bodys way of telling you to rest, so it can fight whatever evil nasty is plaguing your system.
Ironically, some allergy medications may also lead to poor sleep, and the same vicious cycle of insomnia and daytime drowsiness. Many antihistamines can leave you groggy, with a hung over feeling that may last through the day. Or, if you take them at night, you may sleep for a while, but then wake when the medication wears off. Think switching to a decongestant will help? In one study, 15 to 25% of decongestant users reported insomnia. But some doctors switch their patients to prescription nasal corticosteroids, which are not as likely to cause fatigue.
References:
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Can You Tell The Difference Between A Food Allergy And A Food Sensitivity
With a food allergy, even one molecule of the offending foods protein can trigger a response. Your body will react as soon as the food is eaten. Thats why people with food allergies need to completely avoid foods they are allergic to.
Food intolerances can depend on how much is eaten and how often. People with food intolerances may not have symptoms when they eat a small portion of the food, or dont eat the food frequently. For example, if you have a sensitivity to dairy, having one small bowl of ice cream may not cause you any problems. However, theres a good chance you would wake up with diarrhea and brain fog after spending a night binging on Ben & Jerrys.
How Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diagnosed
Right now, there’s no test to tell if someone has chronic fatigue syndrome. Doctors ask a lot of questions . They also will do a thorough physical exam.
Doctors also usually order blood, urine , or other tests to check for conditions that cause similar symptoms. They may send a person to see other specialists to help with the diagnosis.
A doctor may suggest meeting with a psychologist or a therapist who can see whether mental health disorders might contribute to or mask CFS.
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What Causes Allergies Anyway
An allergic reaction is a chain reaction that starts in your genes and is expressed by your immune system, according to the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology .
When you have an allergy to something, like pollen or grass, your immune system views it as an invader . It then overreacts by producing antibodies called Immunoglobulin E , which travel to cells that release chemicals called histamines, Dr. Monteleone explains. Cue the stuffy nose, coughing, sneezing, and other uncomfortable symptoms.
How Can You Treat Fatigue Caused By Allergies
The good news is there are many ways to get allergy relief so you can get rid of that looming, tired feeling. The first step in finding this relief is getting tested for allergies, so you know whats causing your symptoms. Then you can work together with your doctor to find an allergy treatment thats right for you.
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What Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a complicated disease for doctors to diagnose and even fully understand.
CFS is a physical condition, but it can also affect a person psychologically. This means that someone with CFS may feel physical symptoms, such as being very tired and weak , headaches, or dizziness. But the person may also notice emotional symptoms, such as a loss of interest in favorite activities.
To make it even more complicated, different people with CFS can have different symptoms. And the symptoms of CFS often are similar those of other health conditions, like mono, Lyme disease, or depression. And the symptoms can vary over time, even in the same person.
This makes treating the illness complicated because no single medicine or treatment can address all the possible symptoms.
What Causes Allergy
Allergy-induced dizziness can be caused by allergens.
If youre allergic to certain airborne substances, including dust, pollen, and pet dander, your body begins releasing chemicals including histamine to fight off these perceived intruders. These chemicals are the cause of what you know of as allergy symptoms.
Typical allergy symptoms include:
Allergies can affect the Eustachian tube. This tube is essentially a tunnel that connects your middle ear to the back of your throat and helps to regulate your balance, while also equalizing the pressure in your middle ear with the ambient air pressure.
When you begin experiencing symptoms in your ears, including that annoying clogged feeling that can make it difficult to hear, its often because your Eustachian tube is blocked with mucus.
When its blocked, its no longer able to equalize pressure in the ear and maintain balance in your body.
These middle-ear disturbances can cause symptoms of dizziness in people with allergies, colds, and sinus infections.
Lightheadedness may also be a symptom of allergies. Lightheadedness and dizziness are two specific symptoms that are usually distinguishable from one another.
When youre lightheaded, you feel as though you might faint or pass out, instead of the feeling that the room is spinning .
Lying down usually resolves lightheadedness, at least temporarily, while dizziness generally doesnt go away when you lie down.
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What To Do Next
After youve found the culprit or cause of your allergy symptoms, there are many things you can do to lessen your allergic reactions and get you back to having a good nights sleep.
First, you should limit your exposure to your allergen as much as you possibly can. You may also want to hire a professional cleaner to do a deep clean of your home, as mold and dust are likely culprits.
If pollen in the air is an issue or it simply cant be avoided, your allergy specialist in NYC may provide you with the proper medication to help you cope with your specific allergen. They may also suggest taking a specific over-the-counter allergy medication that you can obtain at your local pharmacy.
In addition to medication, your allergy may require allergy shots. Allergy shots are a form of immunotherapy that desensitize your body to the allergy by introducing the allergen to your body slowly but surely. A certain amount is introduced, but not enough to cause an allergic reaction. This allows your immune system to get used to the allergen, building up an immunity to it altogether.
Another option to maximize good sleep while fighting off allergies is to consider nasal strips before bed. Nasal strips are applied to the outside of the nose and are kept on while you sleep. These strips help to open up your nasal passageways, increasing the airflow and therefore your ability to breathe.
Allergies Affect People Day And Night
Chances are high that individuals with allergies know they have them. Theyll spend their days sneezing, coughing, and feeling congested. Typically, people realize how allergies affect themselves during the day. Not all sufferers recognize that allergies can worsen the quality of their sleep. The immune system targets allergens, and this frequent immune response disrupts the body in various ways.
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Fewer Allergens Means Less Fatigue And Better Sleep
After taking these steps, individuals can expect their constant fatigue to lessen. Symptoms could improve in leaps and bounds for some sufferers. Fewer allergens in the home and bedroom will lead to higher quality sleep. From there, a person can expect to feel more rejuvenated in the morning and have more energy during the day. Those that suffer from severe allergies can still reduce their fatigue and other symptoms in noticeable ways!
Find Out What Youre Allergic To
In order to treat your allergies, you have to know what youre up against.
An allergy test can help identify substances that trigger allergic reactions in your body. These substances, known as allergens, can be things you breathe in, things you touch, or things you eat.
A skin prick allergy test involves exposing the skin on your arm or back to small amounts of allergens to then see what you react to. These tests are typically done in a single sitting, and youll get results right away.
A blood allergy test can also check for allergens and is useful if you take a medication that can interfere with results or if your doctor suspects you may have a severe allergic reaction to even a tiny amount of an allergen.
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Treating Body Aches And Fatigue
Symptoms of allergies can be treated, but lasting relief comes from treating the cause of the allergies. Uncovering what allergens you are intolerant of can help you treat your allergies, and reduce or eliminate your symptoms. A board-certified allergist can help to diagnose your allergies and come up with a treatment plan.
At the Center for Allergy and Asthma of Georgia, our allergists are all board-certified specialists in Allergy and Immunology. Our teams focused training allows us to help you find relief from your allergies. We offer extended hours and same-day appointments to ensure that you can get treatment from our Georgia allergists, with no wait. Contact our offices today to schedule your appointment.
Can Seasonal Allergies Make You Sleepy
For those who are sensitive to pollen, dust mites and weeds, certain times of the year may make them feel under the weather.While a seasonal allergy attack is not a true illness, the bodys response to allergens may make the sufferer feel sick. Rather than allergies causing sleepiness, they cause fatigue, which may make the sufferer feel sleepy.
If you are experiencing serious medical symptoms, seek emergency treatment immediately.
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The Causes Of Fatigue In Hayfever
There are many ways that hayfever can cause fatigue, though the usual culprit is the chemical known as histamine.
Histamine primarily acts as a guardian of sorts for your immune system, protecting it from potential invaders. This is why histamine is stored in areas of the body that are vulnerable to attack, such as the nose, mouth, our stomach and even your blood. When the immune system identifies pollen as an alien threat, histamine is released in large quantities to fight the potential menace.
This can lead to inflammation when your blood flow is increased to allow infection fighting cells to leak out of our blood vessels, triggering a string of common hayfever symptoms such as congestion, blocked nose, earache or headache.
These unpleasant afflictions then have the potential to disrupt your sleep patterns – it is difficult to wake up in a bright and bubbly mood when youve spent the night coughing into your pillow or wondering if youll ever be able to stop rubbing your eyes. This rapid outburst of histamine can also exhaust your nervous system.
The adrenal glands produce a hormone known as cortisol, which can limit the level of inflammatory reactions in the body. The more histamine that is released the more the adrenals have to work to compensate, which can place them under a great deal of stress. When the adrenals become fatigued, this can lower your immune system and make you feel more tired than usual.
