An Introduction To Tight Chests And Seasonal Allergies
People afflicted by asthma may also be prone to seasonal allergies. In fact asthma and seasonal allergies are often grouped together and termed atopy by doctors. This is because the individual has an increased tendency to develop allergies and typical symptoms of chest tightness and wheezing often occur in both conditions. Atopic individuals can also be prone to skin allergies or eczema.
Stay Indoors When Pollen And Humidity Are High
Sometimes the best way to avoid allergens is to avoid going outside altogether. Of course, you can’t avoid going outdoors all the time, but it’s a good idea when the allergy forecast looks bad.
Whenever pollen levels are extremely high, you should try to stay indoors as much as possible. Close all your windows, shut all your doors, and turn on your home ventilation system to control allergy levels in your house.
Humid days can also be a problem, since they tend to encourage mold and dust mites to proliferate. Humidity traps smog and lowers air quality, which can be especially irritating to your lungs and airways if you have COPD.
How To Prevent A Cough From Allergies With These Precautions
- Avoid getting close to sick people
- Get rid of or stay away from irritants such as scented sprays and perfumes
- Drinking plenty of water and natural juices will help you to get rid of persistent cough allergies
- Always blow your nose than a sniffle. It will help you to get rid of stuffy nose dry cough allergies
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Why Do Allergies Make Us Sneeze
Achoo! Were all familiar with sneezing, but have you wondered why and how your body does it? These five steps will help you understand what happens in your body.
How Does Allergic Reaction Occur
Your immune system protects your body from invaders such as bacteria and viruses that mean you harm. But when it fights with substances that shouldnt matter thats an allergy. The substances that cause allergy are termed as allergens. Peanuts, pollen or eggs can trigger a reaction. They are good examples for allergens.
During an allergic reaction, your immune system releases antibodies called Immunoglobulin E . These antibodies proceed to cells that release chemicals causing an allergic reaction. This allergic reaction usually causes symptoms in the throat, nose, lungs, ears, sinuses, lining of the stomach or skin.
These antibodies are single-minded, or in other words, they have specific radar for each type of allergen. Some people have allergic reactions to multiple allergens because they have much more types of IgE. Experts believe that your family history may play a part if you have multiple allergies.
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Allergic Asthma: Symptoms And Treatment
Ashley A. Sullivan, MSN FNPStudent, Samuel Merritt University, Oakland, CaRN, California Pacific Medical Center
Natalya M. Kushnir, MDDirector, Allergy and immunology Clinic of East BayBerkeley, CA
H. Henry Li, MD, PhDFAAAAI, FACAAIInstitute for Asthma and AllergyWheaton and Chevy Chase Maryland
Michael A. Kaliner, MD FAAAAIMedical Director, Institute for Asthma and AllergyChevy Chase and Wheaton, MarylandProfessor of Medicine, George Washington University School of MedicineWashington DC
When Should Wheezing Be Treated By A Healthcare Provider
See your healthcare provider if your wheezing is new, if it keeps coming back, or if its accompanied by any of the following symptoms:
- Shortness of breath.
- Chest tightness or chest pain.
- Fever.
- Unexplained swelling of your feet or legs.
- Loss of voice.
- Swelling of the lips or tongue.
- A bluish tinge around your skin, mouth or nails.
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Articles On Allergy Treatments
Want a natural remedy for your stuffy, runny, itchy nose? Natural treatments can’t replace your allergy medications, but they can work alongside them. From acupuncture to supplements, here are some simple things that might help you breathe easier.
Acupuncture. In this ancient Chinese therapy, an expert sticks tiny needles gently — and, many people say, painlessly — into your skin at specific points. Studies of acupuncture for the treatment of allergies have shown mixed results, with the most rigorous studies showing very modest clinical benefit. Acupuncture may be a reasonable option for interested patients with relatively mild disease who wish to minimize medication use and find the cost of therapy acceptable.
Allergy-proofing your home. You can’t stop pollen from blowing outside. But you do have some control over what happens inside your home. Keep your windows shut when pollen is in the air. Run the air conditioning instead. If you can, change your clothes before coming inside , remove your shoes, and shower.
Helpful foods. Eating something spicy can thin mucus and clear congestion. A teaspoon of honey can soothe your throat if it gets irritated from coughing all day. Children under a year old should never be given honey.
Saline sprays. These over-the-counter saltwater sprays can flush out your nasal passages. They help clear out pollen and other irritants.
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Take Daily Allergy Medication
No matter how hard you try, you’re not going to be able to avoid all of your allergy triggers all the time. Your symptoms are bound to act up at least occasionally, and doctors often recommend taking daily allergy medicine all throughout the allergy season to prevent symptoms before they get worse.
If you suffer from allergies and COPD, it’s essential to talk to your doctor and get an allergy medication that works for you. If you don’t treat your symptoms daily, they can continue to get worse and cause your COPD to flare up.
Many people have to try a few different allergy medications before they find one that effectively treats their symptoms. Make sure to take your medicine as directed and work with your doctor to find a medicine that’s effective for you.
Also, remember than many kinds of allergy medications work best when you take them consistently at the same time every day. They are often less effective if you take them irregularly or skip a dose, which can worsen your symptoms and make your allergies more difficult to control.
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Seeking Medical Care For Serious Wheezing
Effective Treatment Of Your Allergies
Corticosteroid nasal sprays are the first line of treatment to relieve allergy symptoms in asthma sufferers who are allergic to pollen. As with the treatment of asthma, corticosteroid nasal sprays are most effective when used every day, for the whole duration of the pollen season.
Your doctor may prescribe a nasal corticosteroid for your allergies. If your prescription has expired, your pharmacist can renew it if you meet certain criteria. Dont hesitate to enquire about this service. Many products are also sold without a prescription but are kept behind the counter, so ask your pharmacist if you are looking for advice or a specific product.
Antihistamines are effective, but are more indicated for mild or occasional symptoms .
As mentioned before, its crucial to continue your regular asthma treatment throughout the allergy season. You can take a nasal corticosteroid even if you already take corticosteroids for your asthma, since each product is only deposited where it is intended to take effect.
If you have any questions on the treatment of your asthma or allergies, dont hesitate to speak to your pharmacist.
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Risks And Side Effects
While most of the supplements and tips described above can provide natural allergy relief safely, there are some precautions to keep in mind.
When allergies are mild or moderate, they are usually not very threatening and go away with time. However, severe allergic reactions can be dangerous and require medical attention.
Anaphylaxis is the term for a severe allergic reaction, which can happen due to contact with food allergens, drugs/medications or insect stings. Symptoms usually affect the lungs, blood vessels or heart and can include:
- trouble breathing
- rash
- vomiting
If you or your child experience these symptoms, head to your doctor or the emergency room right away to prevent complications.
What can you do for severe allergies? Your doctor may need to prescribe allergy shots or prescription asthma medications, such as bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids.
Discuss these options with your health care provider, and consider trying the natural allergy relief remedies described above in addition to using medications.
How Is Wheezing Treated
The first thing your doctor may do is give you oxygen. You might need to stay in the hospital until you get better.
After that, treatment depends on the cause. Some common causes and treatments include:
Asthma. Your doctor will probably prescribe:
- A bronchodilator medication to ease inflammation and open your airways
- Leukotriene receptor antagonists to prevent asthma and allergy symptoms
Bronchitis. Your doctor will prescribe:
- A bronchodilator to open your airways
- An antibiotic to fight a bacterial infection
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Support Your Pets Health And Reduce Wheezing
For the most part, wheezing is a treatable condition in most dogs. Keep your dogs immune system healthy to help with wheezing. Avoid triggers that can cause allergic reactions and wheezing by timing your walks when pollen counts are low and using purifiers to keep the air in your home clean.
In some cases, youll need to take your dog to the vet to deal with wheezing. Head to your local animal hospital if youre unsure.
Wheezing can be an uncomfortable experience for your dog. Reduce your pet’s panic by talking in a calm, soothing voice or giving your dog a calming soft chew. Give your furry friend lots of love and affection and try to make things as comfortable as possible. After the wheezing subsides, hit the trails or take your dog to their favorite spot for playtime. The exercise will help improve their overall health.
How Are Inhalers Used To Treat Asthma
Many asthma medications are delivered using an inhaler or a nebulizer. Inhalers and nebulizers are devices that allow the asthma medications to be breathed in and go straight to the airways. There are four types of delivery devices:
- metered-dose inhaler : a pressurized device that releases medication in a fine spray for you to inhale
- slow-moving mist inhaler: similar to an MDI, with a slower-moving mist
- dry powder inhaler : releases medication as a fine powder for inhaling
Visit our online store to download our free respiratory treatment poster or purchase print copies. The respiratory treatment poster is an asthma medication chart that lists asthma inhalers by brand name as well as biologic medications used to treat asthma.
How to Use a Metered Dose Inhaler
How to Use a Slow-Moving Mist Inhaler
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What Are Common Types Of Asthma Medications
There are four basic types of asthma medications that each treat a different part of your asthma:
- bronchodilators relax and open the airways to relieve asthma symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath
- anti-inflammatory medications reduce and prevent lung inflammation
- combination medications combine a bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory in one device
- leukotriene modifiers block the action of leukotrienes, chemicals involved in immune system responses
- biologics are medications that target the specific cells and pathways that cause inflammation related to severe asthma.
How To Breathe Easier With Your Allergies And Copd
Feb 28, 2018 6:44:52 AM / byDuke Reeves
Allergy season is a nuisance for anyone who suffers from allergies, but it can be a serious struggle for people who also suffer from COPD. Common allergens like pollen, dust, and mold can not only cause uncomfortable allergic reactions, but they can also irritate your lungs and airways and make it more difficult to breathe.
At least one in five people in the US suffer from allergies, and that includes many people who also have COPD. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a lot of research on how the two conditions interact, and there are few official treatment guidelines to help COPD patients manage their allergies.
However, thanks to research from John Hopkins University, we do know that people who suffer from both allergies and COPD are more likely to have worsened symptoms and shortness of breath. They are also more likely to experience exacerbations, which are episodes of increased symptoms that can be serious and even require hospitalization.
Currently, the best known way handle allergies when you have COPD is to treat the symptoms with medication. The best treatment, however, is prevention to keep you from having allergic reactions at all.
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Get A Hepa Vacuum Cleaner
A regular old vacuum can get a lot of the pollen, dust, and other allergens out of your carpet and furniture, but it can only do so much. Sometimes vacuuming can even scatter these particles into the air and actually make your allergies worse.
In order to allergy-proof your home more effectively, you can get a vacuum with a HEPA filter that removes at least 99.97 percent of particles that are 0.3 microns or larger. A regular vacuum can only filter particles that are 50 microns or larger.
Just make sure you get a HEPA filter-compatible vacuum that’s large enough to fit the size of your home. Otherwise, you’ll end up having to change the filter quite often in order to keep it working properly.
What Medications Can Help With Asthma
Asthma attacks, airway inflammation, and other issues can be controlled or prevented in many cases. Certain medications can be taken every day, like inhaled corticosteroids and leukotriene modifiers. These can help a child live more easily with their asthma and live a more active life. Of course, rescue inhalers will help too, and can be vital for a child.
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When To Call The Doctor
If you are experiencing wheezing and shortness of breath, see a doctor right away unless you have a known lung disease and already have medication and a treatment plan to try at home.
A doctor should also evaluate persistent wheezing. If it develops after having a cold and cough, it is probably viral bronchitis that will improve in several days to a couple of weeks, but a physician can prescribe you an inhaler to ease your symptoms.
Get A Good Hvac Air Filter
All home HVAC ventilation systems include an air filter that has to be cleaned or changed out on a regular basis. Some filters only need to be changed once per season, but others should be swapped out more often, every couple of months or so.
Not all air filters are created equal, and some are much more effective than others at getting out the tiny particles that trigger allergies. Most filters include a MERV rating, which is a standard rating that tells you what kinds of particles a filter can and cannot screen out.
A lower MERV rating is associated with low-quality air filters, while high MERV ratings are given to more effective filters. You should always look for a hypo-allergenic air filter that’s fine enough to catch tiny allergens like pollen and mold spores.
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Allergic Wheezing Had Various Causes:
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When you come in contact with a foreign substance such as pollen, dust, pet hair and certain food, an allergic reaction is created. It can cause symptoms in your nose, throat, ear and eyes.
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As soon as the body detects an allergen, the body tries its best to remove it. And in the process, the airways become constricted. As the airways become narrower, the air is forced through a smaller space, creating whistling sound.
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Allergic asthma is another cause of wheezing. Although not everyone with allergic wheezing has asthma, but the opposite might happen.
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Anaphylactic shock is another condition that causes allergic wheezing. Its considered to be a serious medical condition.
Signs Of Asthma Absolutely Everyone Should Know
You might think you know the signs of asthma because hey, it seems like one of those health conditions that is absolutely unmistakable. Its kind of obvious if you justcant really breathe, right? Sure, but asthma symptoms can present with a lot more complexity and subtlety than that. Many people do not realize they have asthma and deal with daily symptoms, Purvi Parikh, M.D., an allergist and immunologist with Allergy & Asthma Network, tells SELF. Because of that, you should be aware of the signs of asthma so you dont write them off for months or even years without realizing you have this persistentand ultimately treatablehealth condition.
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