Can Pollen Allergies Affect Your Stomach

How To Alleviate Seasonal Allergies And Digestive Problems

Supplying oral probiotics in adults with rhinitis – the stuffy nose that is often caused by seasonal allergies – was also shown to help, with Lactococcus lactis protecting against bacteria that cause pneumonia by increasing the rate of clearance of these pathogenic microbes from the lungs.

Last but not least, exercise, perhaps the simplest and least complex intervention, has been proven to increase microbiome diversity. In mouse models, this diet increased amounts of beneficial bacteria, Lactobacillus and Clostridium leptum, that protect against wheat allergy. Regular exercise also is linked to greater gut microbial diversity, yet another excellent reason to make physical activity part of your life.

Is My Cat Or Dog Making Me Sick

Is my cat or dog making me sick? Can I get an allergy-free dog or cat? Can pet allergies affect me even if I dont own a dog or cat, or if I am not frequently around animals? Do I have to get rid of my pet if I do have animal allergies? These are common questions that I hear on a daily basis. Lets explore pet allergy and answer these and many other common questions.

Cat and dog allergies are extremely common. Allergy symptoms triggered by animals can include runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, itchy watery eyes, wheezing, chest tightness, coughing, itchy rashes and headaches. If these symptoms worsen with exposure to pets, they can indicate a possible animal allergy. Sometimes, pet allergens can contribute to constant or seasonal symptoms when combined with other allergens. However, these symptoms may be triggered by other allergens picked up by an animal in the environment, such as mold, pollen, and dust, rather than the animal itself. Therefore, it is important to confirm dog and cat allergy through testing.

Allergy testing is a simple process where small amounts of allergens, including dog, cat, and other common allergens, are pricked on the skin using sterile plastic probes. If one is allergic, there will be a small red itchy bump or wheal where the skin was pricked. The results are available in 15 to 20 minutes.

How Allergies Can Impact Your Lungs

During the unpredictable health crisis that the world is currently facing, its more important than ever to stay healthy. According to the AAFA over 50 million Americans suffer from allergies. Allergic reactions can cause symptoms in your nose, lungs, throat, sinuses, ears, lining of the stomach, or on the skin. Allergies can also trigger asthma, making it more difficult to breathe. Pulmonary Associates of Richmond shares the connection between lung health and allergies, and what you can do to protect your lungs.

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Can Allergies Cause Digestive Problems

Research shows that inflammation, a common allergy symptom, can damage villi which are small structures in the gut wall that help to absorb digested food.1 This can contribute to the likes of diarrhoea, constipation and nausea.

Thats not all though the same research also showed that inflammation impaired the effectiveness of the epithelial barrier which helps to protect the body from physical and chemical damage. So, from this we can see there is a close link between allergies and digestion not only do digestive problems lead to allergies, they can also be caused by allergies too.

Gut Health And Allergies Are Connected

An allergy can be diagnosed and treated with medication prescribed by a doctor, but there are ways to prevent our risk of developing allergies, starting with a healthy gut. The gut microbiome consists of bacteria that live in our gut in a mutually beneficial relationship with us – they feed us and we feed them.

New research is increasingly finding evidence that a healthy and diverse gut microbiome is associated with fewer allergic symptoms. The rates of allergies have been rising steeply in the last few decades as humans settle in comfortably in urban environments.

Indeed, eating habits have become more homogenised with less variety of food sources. People get outdoors less and do less exercise. Families are also having fewer children and taking more antibiotics. In particular, antibiotics are a potent disruptor of microbial balance in the human gut.

All these factors cause our microbiomes to lose precious diversity, decreasing the number of species in the database that our immune system can recognise as foreign, yet not overreact, because it knows that they are not harmful.

In fact, this idea is not new. As far back as 1989, the hygiene hypothesis of allergy was proposed, stating that the greater our exposure to microorganisms, the lower our risk of developing allergies. This doesnt refer to how often you tidy your room or wash your hands, but rather to factors that affect your level of exposure to microorganisms.

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When To See A Specialist

Did you know that you are not able to sneeze when you are asleep? This means that one of the most important ways of ridding your body from allergens, sneezing, is unavailable while you sleep. This can lead to a worsening of symptoms that will wake you up.

Keeping your sleeping environment, your body, and your sleep clothes clear from allergens certainly cannot hurt you and often is enough to give you a comfortable nights sleep. But, for some, it isnt enough and the only available option is allergy medication.

If your allergies are making it difficult to sleep at night, contact Carolina Asthma and Allergy Center today. Since 1952, Carolina Asthma and Allergy Center has served the Charlotte metropolitan area. Today, the center has 12 offices in and around Charlotte. All the 14 allergists at the center are board certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. To make an appointment at an office near you call 704-372-7900.

How You Can Tell The Difference Between Cold And Seasonal Allergy Symptoms

With both allergies and colds, its typical to have congestion or a runny nose, and to sneeze often. You may also feel tired and drowsy. But there are several other symptoms that dont often overlap between allergies and a cold. Here are some of the telltale differences between cold symptoms and allergy symptoms.

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Can Dog Allergies Affect Humans

Some people with dog allergies also have skin reactions. For instance, their skin might break out where a dog licks them. Others with more severe allergies might develop hives on their face or chest. People with asthma as well as pet allergies can have especially serious symptoms.

Gastroscopy And Duodenal Biopsies

Gastroscopies and duodenal biopsy sampling were performed by gastroenterologist at the Department of Endoscopy in the gastroenterology clinic, Sahlgrenska University Hospital during the pollen season between the 5th of May until 5th of June, and outside the pollen season between 1st November and 5th of March. The patients had to avoid intake of food and liquids for at least 12 hours before the gastroscopy. Gastroscopies were performed with Olympus GIF Q160, Q180 or Fujinon 450 WR5 endoscopes. Biopsy specimens from the descending part of the duodenum were obtained. The tissue specimens were immediately embedded in O.C.T. compound , frozen in isopentane precooled by liquid nitrogen, and finally transferred into liquid nitrogen. The biopsy specimens and sera were kept at -70°C until analyzed. All gastroscopies were performed during three consecutive years 20082010.

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Joint Pain: Youre Not Alone

In a recent national survey, nearly one out of every three adults in the US reported having joint pain within the last 30 days. In this survey, deep pain was the most common complaint, followed by shoulder and hip pain

Joints connect your bones together, providing your body with support as you move. Joint pain can impact just about any part of your body, including the ankles, feet and hands. While joint pain can occur at any age, it becomes increasingly common as a person ages.

Damage to your joints caused by injury or disease cannot only interfere with movement, but can also be a common cause of pain. Some of the most common conditions leading to painful joints include rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis, osteoarthritis, gout, strains, sprains and other injuries, such as in sports.

As with back pain, joint pain can vary greatly in terms of severity in the amount of time that it lasts. For example, joint pain that resolves within a few weeks is referred to as acute. However, many people suffer from chronic joint pain, or pain that lingers for weeks or months at a time.

Other common causes of joint pain include:

• Osteoarthritis
• Autoimmune diseases, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
• Seasonal allergies

Can Food Intolerances Be Prevented

Taking a few simple steps can help you prevent the symptoms associated with a food intolerance.

• Learn which foods in which amounts cause you to have symptoms, and limit your intake to amounts you can handle.
• When you dine out, ask your server about how your meal will be prepared. Some meals may contain foods you cannot tolerate, and that may not be evident from the description on the menu.
• Learn to read food labels and check the ingredients for problem foods. Dont forget to check condiments and seasonings. They may contain MSG or another additive that can lead to symptoms.

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Which Allergies Cause Headaches

Here are some of the common allergies that can lead to headaches:

• Allergic rhinitis . If you have a headache along with seasonal and indoor nasal allergies, its more likely due to a migraine headache rather than allergies. But pain related to hay fever or other allergic reactions may cause headaches due to sinus disease. A true sinus headache is actually quite rare.
• Food allergies. There can be a relationship between food and headaches. For example, foods like aged cheese, artificial sweeteners, and chocolate can trigger a migraine in some people. Experts believe its the chemical properties of certain foods that trigger the pain, as opposed to a true food allergy.
• Histamine. The body produces histamines in response to an allergic reaction. Among other things, histamines decrease blood pressure . This can result in headache.

Treat an allergy headache the same way that youd deal with any other headache. If allergies are the source of the headache, there are ways to address the root cause.

Can Seasonal Allergies Cause Stomach Upset

My wife often starts a few young seedlings of spinach, lettuce, and tomatoes in a sunny window before they go outside for the spring.

Recently, when we had a few baby plants in the house, I started having headaches and stomach upset and couldn’t find a cause until I spotted a few little sprouts of pollen that had shot up from the baby spinach.

Once the offending plant was moved outside, my symptoms went away.

As a functional medicine doctor, I am used to seeing new patients who have been misdiagnosed for years due to symptoms that don’t quite fit the mold of a standard diagnosis.

There are, no doubt, many people unnecessarily suffering because of a misunderstanding of how we think of certain conditions.

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Keep Your Sleeping Environment Allergen Free

You need your sleep, so, the room you sleep in needs to be cleaned often to remove pollen, dust mites, and other allergens. Vacuuming under the bed helps in this effort by removing allergens living underneath it. A home-remedy that helps keep your bedroom allergen free is to wipe down hard flooring, molding and the walls near your bed with white vinegar. Mold is an allergen that enjoys living on dark walls and floors. Dehumidifiers can help keep relative humidity at the recommended levels of 30-50% and air conditioning to maintain temperatures at 70 degrees F or below will retard dust mite and mold growth. Hardwood flooring is best.

Allergies And Sleep Apnea

When you have to wrestle with your allergies each night at bedtime, you may fitfully toss and turn and then wake up exhausted. It feels like you slept for maybe an hour or two. As you drag on with your day, bleary-eyed and dead tired, its easy to assume youre so exhausted because your stuffy nose, eye itchiness, and coughing kept you awake.

While that could be true, you could also be dealing with sleep apnea without even knowing it. Obstructive sleep apnea is a form of sleep apnea associated with allergies. The nasal symptoms of your allergies make you snore when you might regularly dont. The sound of your snoring, while very distracting to a partner, can even bother you, causing you to wake up again and again throughout the night.

The upper airway is obstructed with this sleep apnea, either somewhat or all the way. Since your airway cannot open, the lungs dont get as much air unless your chest muscles and diaphragm strain.

You can have obstructive sleep apnea and not even know it because youre barely aware of whats causing you to keep waking all night. Here are the other symptoms:

• Constant exhaustion that makes it hard to get out of bed
• A choking or gasping feeling that wakes you up, even several times a night
• Snoring
• Mood changes, depression, feeling forgetful, and difficulty with concentrating on tasks
• Morning headaches
• Sore throat and/or dry mouth in the morning

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How To Get Tested

If you think you might have a food allergy that could lead to nausea and vomiting, you should be tested by an allergist. Getting tested by a board-certified allergist is the first step to helping you deal with your allergy and avoid your triggers. An allergist will take a detailed medical history and review your symptoms to determine whether your symptoms are triggered by an allergy to food, medications, insect stings or something else.

Allergy tests are both convenient and accurate. When combined with a detailed medical history, allergy testing can identify the specific things that trigger your allergic reactions. Testing also helps your allergist determine whether you have a food intolerance or a food allergy, which both can cause stomach upset.

Many people may think they have a food allergy when what they really are experiencing is food intolerance. Food intolerance can often mimic a food allergy, causing nausea and vomiting, but is not life-threatening. The best way to determine whether you are experiencing a food allergy is to see an allergist for testing. An allergist will help you develop an action plan to deal with whatever allergies or intolerances you may have.

Talk With A Doctor Or Clinician To Create A Personalized Treatment Plan

If you arent sure if its a cold or allergies, or if your symptoms are severe or long-lasting, its best to connect with a care provider to get an official diagnosis and treatment plan.

If your allergy symptoms are left untreated, you could become more prone to getting sinus infections or other upper respiratory infections, or may lead to poor asthma control.

Also, a common cold can turn severe. So, if your cold has had you laid up longer than a day or two, get in touch with your doctor.

You have a couple options:

Make an appointment for face-to-face care from a primary care doctor or clinician. Whether you choose a video visit or in-person appointment, your doctor will listen to your symptoms, answer questions and work with you to create a tailored treatment plan including connecting you with an allergist or an otolaryngologist if needed.

Start a virtual visit anytime, anyplace through Virtuwell. With Virtuwell, no appointment is necessary and treatment is available 24/7. Getting started is easy. Well ask you a few questions, and youll get your diagnosis and treatment plan from a board-certified nurse practitioner. Each visit is just $59 or less, depending on your insurance.

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Reduce Quick Head Movements

Especially when dizziness is a primary symptom, do not stand up quickly or spin around. Notice how you may feel sicker when cleaning or cooking, activities which have a surprising amount of quick stooping and getting up.

If you do have to be very active, take breaks. Applying a cool compress to the back of the head often helps nausea and feelings of dizziness.

Food Allergy Vs Food Intolerance

Did you know the term food allergy is widely overused? Manypeople believe they have a food allergy when they actually have a foodintolerance. The two are commonly confused because they produce some of thesame symptoms.

A food allergy causes an immune system reaction that canaffect numerous organs in the body every time a certain food is consumed,touched or inhaled potentially causing life-threatening symptoms. On theother hand, a food intolerance occurs when a certain food irritates thedigestive system because your body is unable to properly digest it.

Food intolerances are much more common than food allergies.In fact, almost everyone will experience a negative digestive response aftereating at some point in their life. Unlike allergies, intolerances are oftendose-related, meaning symptoms may not present until a large amount is eaten orthe food is eaten frequently. The most common food intolerance is an intolerance to lactose, which is found inmilk and other dairy products.

Food intolerance symptoms commonly include:

· Nausea or stomach pain

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What Triggers Allergy Night

There are multiple potential triggers for night-time allergy symptoms. Indoor allergens including dust mites, pet dander, and pollen are a few examples. Dust mites could live in your bedroom. Pet dander, which is skin and not fur, can stick to your clothing or bedding and cause allergy symptoms that way.

The same goes for pollen. It can exist indoors, and if you spend time outside and dont immediately wash your hands and change your clothes and shoes, you could bring even more pollen inside your bedroom.