The Season Of The Sneeze : Avoiding Allergies

It’s that glorious time of year where the days are getting longer and the flowers are blooming. It’s been a long cold winter. There’s a palpable sense of joy as people walk down the street wearing shorts , and there’s not a jacket to be seen. But you can hear the sneezing a mile away. Spring is the season of the sneeze. It’s the price we pay for the lovely weather as trees and budding plants of all types bloom their flowers and spew their pollen for all the world to inhale. Itchy eyes and throats, runny noses and even headaches and coughs run rampant through the ranks of anyone who displays just the slightest allergy to plant borne particulates.

Even though allergies are not commonly life threatening, they can have an acute effect on quality of life. Mild allergies like hay fever are highly prevalent in the human population and cause symptoms such as allergic conjunctivitis, itchiness, and runny nose. Allergies can also play a major role in conditions such as asthma. Perhaps the most common allergy is rhinitis, or sneezing and runny nose. But in some people, severe reactions to environmental or dietary allergens or to medication may result in life-threatening anaphylactic reactions and potentially death.

Like the common cold, there is no known cure. Allergy shots can sometimes go a considerable distance to relieve symptoms, but generally speaking, shots - which desensitize the body's response to a given allergen - have a mixed record of success. Most treatments out on the market today primarily deal with the alleviation of symptoms, and not the essential cause of allergies.

The Cause of Allergies

The casual mechanisms that bring out allergic reactions are very complex and beyond the bounds of this article. But simply put, an allergy is your immune system overreacting. At its most basic level, an allergic reaction occurs when a given allergen comes into contact with the body’s mast cells and basophils. If surrounding T and B white blood cells have been sensitized to this particular allergen, the mast and basophil cells will release histamine and other inflammatory chemical mediators (cytokines, interleukins, leukotrienes, and prostaglandins) into the surrounding tissue, causing several systemic effects, such as vasodilation, mucous secretion, nerve stimulation and smooth muscle contraction. This results in rhinorrhea, itchiness, dyspnea, and anaphylaxis. Depending on the individual, allergen, and mode of introduction, the symptoms can be system-wide (as in life threatening classical anaphylaxis), or localized to particular body systems. For example, asthma is localized to the respiratory system and eczema is localized to the dermis.

Allergies can come in a broad array of categories from food allergies to drug /medication allergies as well as insect stings to even jewelry. Perhaps the most common allergies are reactions to dust, mold, pollen, and animal dander. These are also among the most difficult to control as they permeate so much of our environment. After all, we have to breathe, don’t we? But when these allergens are trapped inside a house or business their effect can be intensified. Even people who are not overtly prone to allergies can have their immune systems compromised by mold, dust mites and particulates that can remain trapped in a house. Carpets pose a particular problem, as they are notoriously difficult to keep clean. Try and vacuum carpets as often as possible. Better yet, consider hiring a professional carpet cleaning service . Professional services are markedly more effective than consumer vacuums, as they tend to use highly pressurized steam cleaning techniques, combined with very high pressure vacuuming to rid the carpet pile of built up particulates and residue.

Whether you suffer from seasonal allergies or down and dirty carpet buildup, taking a few simple, preventative measures can make the world of difference, and boost your quality of life for pennies on the dollar.