Can Allergies Make You Have A Headache

Are There Home Remedies To Help With My Headache

The remedies you try for your headache will largely be dependent on the type of headache you are experiencing. For example, a sinus headache may benefit from treatment with a decongestant, such as holding your head over a steaming pot of water, or breathing in peppermint oil.

Whatever type of headache you experience, it is also important to keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water or clear fluids. This also helps to thin the mucus building up in your sinuses, helping the substance drain away. Being hydrated also promotes good blood flow and circulation, minimising your risk of developing migraine headaches.

However, the most effective home remedies for seasonal allergies headaches are likely to be those which involve reducing your exposure to pollen such as by avoiding areas of newly cut grass, or wearing glasses when outdoors.

Wash your hands before you touch your face to reduce the amount of pollen from your hands to your nose, mouth or eyes.

What Does An Allergy Headache Feel Like

When you experience a headache caused by allergies, you may feel them in any of these spaces within your sinuses. It may even feel like your face, rather than your head, is what really hurts. You may have pain in the cheeks that radiates to your jaw and teeth. You may feel pain on the top of your head.

Allergies may also trigger a migraine headache. This type of headache may include throbbing, and is usually felt on one side of the head. You may find that the pain gets worse in sunlight or that you also feel nauseated.

The skull has a series of connected, hollow spaces known as sinuses, which are lined with soft tissue and a layer of mucus. These sinuses help humidify and filter the air you breathe, and help drain the nose. Allergy symptoms often appear in the sinuses, like when your nose is running or stuffed up.

Some of the spaces that make up the sinuses are found in the:

• Cheekbones
• Between or behind the eyes
• Behind the nose

You may experience headaches and pain if your sinuses are swollen or their openings are obstructed. This often happens with allergies. Swelling and blockage in the sinuses can prevent normal drainage and airflow, causing a buildup of pressure. Other allergy triggers, such as smoke or certain foods, can lead to headaches.

The degree of pain from an allergy headache can vary widely, from dull to almost debilitating. The level of pain may also change with your position, such as whether you are standing or lying down.

What Else Can I Do

Once you figure out what youâre allergic to, try to avoid it as much as you can.

Manage outside triggers:

• Stay inside on windy days, when more allergens will be in the air. Mid-morning and early evening are also good times to avoid the great outdoors. Thatâs when pollen counts are highest.
• Keep your house and car windows closed. Use air conditioning to cool and clean the air.
• Ask another family member or friend to take care of your yard chores. Mowing, raking, and gardening can stir up pollen and mold.
• Dry your clothes in a dryer. If theyâre outside on a clothesline, theyâll trap allergens.

Control indoor allergens:

• Keep your home free of dust. Clean with a wet mop instead of a broom.
• Use special covers on your box springs, mattress, and pillows to keep out dust mites. Wash your bedding each week in hot water, then dry on high heat.

Avoid pet allergens:

• Wash your hands after you touch any animal. If it lives in your home, keep it off your bed and out of your bedroom.
• Keep as few carpets and rugs in your home as you can. Wood floors, tile, and linoleum collect far less dander, the flakes of dead skin that cause most pet allergies. Vacuum any carpet you do have often.

No matter what kind of allergies you have, you can also:

Show Sources

Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports: âAllergic Rhinitis and Chronic Daily Headaches: Is There a Link?â

Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology: âPrevalence of migraine headaches in patients with allergic rhinitis.â

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Chronic Daily Headache And Allergic Rhinitis: Epidemiology And Burden

Chronic daily headache comprises a group of primary and secondary headache disorders in which headache is present on more than 15 days per month for at least 3 months . Approximately, 3 to 5 % of the US population suffers from chronic daily headaches, and the most frequent of which is chronic migraine . This debilitating disorder affects around 2 % of the general population and is the leading cause of outpatient and emergency department visits . According to the most recent health surveillance studies by the US National Center for Health Statistics, migraine affects roughly one in seven Americans annually, which is comparable to statistics from the previous 8 years . Surprisingly, a recent US study found that the proper diagnosis of chronic migraine is often elusive: only 20 % of patients who fulfill the criteria are diagnosed with the disorder . Several studies have provided evidence that migraine is one of the diseases that mimic allergic rhinitis .

Migraine Hay Fever Asthma And Allergies

Spring is a welcomed change in seasons, especially for people who endure frigid winters and copious snowfall. But for the percentage of people living with migraine who also experience allergies, asthma or hay fever, its a time of year when headaches tend to increase and are accompanied by the symptoms of seasonal allergies.

Heres what we know about the connection between migraine, hay fever, asthma, allergies, and the treatment options currently being used to manage them.

What is hay fever and how is it diagnosed?

The medical term for hay fever is allergic rhinitis. Allergic rhinitis occurs when a patient develops symptoms of runny nose, post nasal drip and nasal congestion upon exposure to an allergen. An allergen is something in the environment to which you are allergic such as tree pollen, mold, cat hair, dog hair or dust. To firmly establish the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis, one must have the above mentioned symptoms upon exposure to the allergen and also have a positive allergy test to that allergen. Allergy testing can take one of two forms: skin prick testing and blood tests. With skin prick testing, an allergist puts minute quantities of allergen on the tip of a needle and then he/she pricks your skin with the needle. A positive response requires that a certain degree of redness and swelling of the skin occurs in the region of the skin prick. In addition, blood tests can be performed to identify an allergen.

What is asthma and how is it diagnosed?

References

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Prevent Food Allergies In The First Place

Can allergies cause nausea? Therefore, just like with all other medical conditions, prevention is the best treatment. As we have already established that it is not easy to always avoid all the foods that one is allergic to, let alone identify them all. However, if you do have a food allergy, it is important to take the pains to avoid taking in the foods you are allergic to. Here are some of the ways you can do this:

• Know what you are consuming. You can do this by always reading the labels of foods for ingredients before eating or drinking anything.
• If you have already experienced a severe food allergic reaction at one time, you should get a medical bracelet that can inform other people around you about your condition in case you get a severe reaction that will render you incapable of speaking.
• In addition, if you ever had a severe reaction, you should consider having an emergency epinephrine with you at all times. You can get this by talking to your doctor.
• Be keen on what you eat at restaurants and hotels. You can and should let your chef know that you cannot consume a certain type of food, and your chef should assure you that the food you order does not contain the food as an ingredient.

If you have a child who is allergic to certain foods then you can protect him/ her by:

How Is Each Condition Diagnosed

Doctors can use a spirometry test to diagnose asthma.

Doctors can diagnose asthma by taking a health history and asking about a persons symptoms, such as when they become worse or better.

Doctors can then conduct breathing tests to see if someone is likely to have asthma.

Several different tests exist, but a common one is known as spirometry.

Spirometry involves a person blowing into a sensor that measures how fast and hard they are exhaling their breath.

How forcefully a person can exhale is usually reduced if they have asthma.

A doctor may consider asthma over bronchitis if someone has had a cough that goes away but keeps returning.

An exception is when a person has chronic bronchitis, often because they smoke. Asthma is also often unresponsive to cough medications.

A doctor will diagnose bronchitis by:

• taking a medical history
• listening to the lungs
• considering symptoms

A doctor may also order a chest X-ray to ensure symptoms are not related to pneumonia. They may consider a further round of testing for asthma if the symptoms do not improve in 1 or 2 weeks.

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What Natural Items Help Clear Your Sinuses

There are a few things that can help clear sinuses. These include:

• Fresh fruit
• Lean protein sources such as fish and poultry
• Whole grains like brown rice or quinoa
• Neti pot
• Soup broth with chicken stock for flavor
• Salty snacks to bring up fluids in the body
• Proper breathing is one of the most important things you can do if you want to get rid of a congested nose
• Tea made from peppermint leaves or even ginger works good
• Power nap
• Garlic
• Inhale steam from boiling or simmering soap

Some of these are recommended because pasteurization may kill important immune-supporting properties of this food product as well as those beneficial enzymes which act as a natural anti-inflammatory in the body.

Inhale steam from boiling or simmering soap. This is done by using a pot of water on the stove, and then placing your head over it with a towel draped to cover you up. You can also purchase an electric steamer, which will be more convenient for those who suffer from frequent sinus headaches because they wont need to worry about balancing hot pots of boiling water around their home in search of relief.

Neck Pain May Be Caused By Sinuses

Its a common misconception that the sinuses can contribute to neck pain. Studies have shown that many people with chronic neck pain have them in other places, such as their shoulder joint and at the base of their skull.

So if youre experiencing any type of headache or inflammation in your neck area, it would be unusual for those symptoms to be related to your sinuses.

For mild headaches due to allergies, however, we recommend seeing a physician for prescription medication instead of purchasing OTC medicines.

Yes. When you get sinusitis, the nasal cavities swell with mucus and tighten up near the back of your throat, causing post-nasal drip that can go down into your esophagus and stomach.

When you swallow the irritating liquid, it may also go through a narrow opening called the Eustachian tube to your inner ear on its way to the stomach.

There it gets behind a thin sheet of tissue called a tympanic membrane also known as membrane or eardrum which vibrates when our ears are plugged up or clogged with fluid.

So while sinuses dont usually cause neck pain directly, they can indirectly by triggering infection in the Eustachian tubes that lead to the ears.

This infection can cause an earache and sore throat, which will also lead to neck pain as you try to turn your head or bend down for relief.

It helps to avoid all of these symptoms is by getting a sinus infection treated quickly with antibiotics from your doctor before it worsens.

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Can Allergies Cause Jaw Pain

When you experience jaw pain, your mind may jump to reasons such as teeth grinding or toothaches. By going for the obvious, however, you may overlook something as simple as allergies causing your jaw pain. Keep reading to uncover how allergies can cause jaw pain. First, to help you determine if you may be suffering from allergies, heres a quick primer on what allergies are, what causes them, and whos most at risk of getting them.

Treatments To Relieve Sinus And Allergy Headaches:

Because headaches are painful and can disrupt your quality of life, you’ll want to find a remedy that will relieve your discomfort. The following are treatment options:

Pain relievers.Over-the-counter pain relievers that contain Acetaminophen or ibuprofen may offer short-term relief for sinus headache pain.

Saline nasal sprays. This salt-water spray is available over the counter. Its a natural remedy that works by moistening your otherwise dry nasal passages. Saline sprays may also loosen congestion and mucus if your nose is stuffy. Because saline nasal sprays dont contain medication, you can use these several times a day.

Steroid nasal sprays. These sprays have been proven to be effective in reducing inflammation in the nasal passages which often leads to headaches. Some steroid nasal sprays are prescribed by your health care provider, while others are available over-the-counter. They are more effective when taken regularly and have been found to provide more relief of nasal discharge and blockage than antihistamines.1 Side effects are minimal, but include local irritation of nasal mucosa and nosebleeds.

Nasal irrigation with a Neti pot. Flush the sinuses and thin the mucus thats blocking your nasal passages with a Neti pot. This is another natural remedy that uses salt water.

Water. Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water will help thin the mucus that might be causing your congestion.

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Allergies And Chronic Fatigue

It is not uncommon for a person who suffers from allergies to also suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome . Symptoms of CFS include extreme exhaustion that does not have any known cause. The first step is to talk to your doctor so they can assess for potential illnesses. If they cannot find the cause, then your next step should be to take to an allergist.

Why? Because it is often the case that a person with CFS has an over-sensitive immune system. When you consider that allergies can be caused by over-sensitive immune systems, it is easy to see that why the conditions often exist together. It is often the case that by treating allergies, fatigue can be reduced. Other things can affect both fatigue and allergies, such as mold spores and other environmental irritants.

Allergies And Dizziness: The Cause And The Treatment

• Outlook

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.

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Joint Pain And Food Allergies

Besides seasonal allergies, food allergies are quite common in many people especially the children. Though in some cases allergic reactions to certain types of food are inherited, it is quite difficult to predict the condition amongst families. In that case, an individual may develop allergic reactions towards a certain food at some point in their lives. Peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, soy, fish, wheat, and shellfish are examples of common foods that cause allergenic reactions in many people. This happens due to overreaction of the immune system towards a particular food type or its components.

• Shock
• Hoarse throat and hives

These symptoms usually affect the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and respiratory systems. In excess situations, food allergies may result in a condition called anaphylaxis which is life threatening when one fails to breathe properly thus causing a shock. In such cases, joint pain manifests.

The main cause of joint pain as a result of food allergies is inflammation. Researchers from different institutions such asJohns Hopkins Medicine and OrthoBethesda have concluded that allergens that trigger the immune system do result in joint pain in various parts of the body. That explains the reason why arthritis patients experience severe joint pain after taking certain foods that they are allergic to.

Underactive Thyroid And Fatigue

Symptoms: Extreme fatigue, sluggishness, feeling run-down, depression, cold intolerance, weight gain

The problem may be a slow or underactive thyroid. This is known as hypothyroidism. The thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland that sits at the base of your neck. It helps set the rate of metabolism, which is the rate at which the body uses energy.

According to the American Thyroid Foundation, about 17% of all women will have a thyroid disorder by age 60. And most wont know it. The most common cause is an autoimmune disorder known as Hashimotos thyroiditis. Hashimotos stops the gland from making enough thyroid hormones for the body to work the way it should. The result is hypothyroidism, or a slow metabolism.

Blood tests known as T3 and T4 will detect thyroid hormones. If these hormones are low, synthetic hormones can bring you up to speed, and you should begin to feel better fairly rapidly.

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