Dog Allergy

Are you allergic to dogs? If you are but an avid dog lover, then no problem! While there is no such thing as a hypo-allergenic dog breed – one that won’t cause any dog allergy or allergic reactions – there are breeds that produce very little of the allergens that trigger the symptoms.

What are allergens?

Allergens are substances found everywhere around us that our body cannot tolerate. Usually what happens is that you may have been exposed to these allergens before and your immune system had a reaction, producing antibodies to “fight” off these “harmful” substances.

Most of the time, these substances are not harmful at all, only your immune system misidentify them as “foreign” and “potentially dangerous.” So the next time you encounter these allergens, your immune system overreacts by mass producing antibodies to counter these substances. And when that happens, you then experience the symptoms of allergy, such as swelling, bloating, itching, congestion, sneezing, watering eyes, fatigue, skin rashes, headaches, shortness of breath, coughing, respiratory problems, wheezing, asthma, and even fatal anaphylaxis.

Common allergens causing dog allergy are dander (or shed skin cells), saliva, and urine. You notice that fur is not included. That’s because fur are not allergens by themselves, but they do collect dander and saliva when your pet is grooming.

Within five to thirty minutes of contact with these allergens, the symptoms of dog allergy can occur. But there are instances where the symptoms can occur much later in a sort of delayed reaction.

Hypo-Allergenic Dog Breeds?

The term “hypo-allergenic” is typically used with skincare products that tend to be less irritating to sensitive skin. The hypo-allergenic dog idea came up when people found that there are certain dog breeds that produce less dander than other breeds. As a result, these breeds came to be known as “hypo-allergenic,” “low allergy,” and even “allergy friendly.” People with dog allergy can supposedly tolerate these dogs, but always with proper environmental controls.

Read below for some tips on how to properly control your environment with dogs around:

Always try to at least keep your dog away from your bed or even in your bedroom.
Use HEPA air purifiers in all the bedrooms, the family room, and all other rooms where you spend most of your time.
Dog allergens are reduced with the use of central heating systems with electrostatic filters to help clean the air. br> Avoid carpets. Use bare, easy to clean floors in all the rooms where the dogs spend most of its time. Carpets are very good collectors of dander.
It helps if you bathe your dogs regularly. Twice a week will do. Use a mild dog shampoo to prevent over drying of the skin.
Wash all dog bedding, doggie shirts, and soft dog toys frequently. Try using anti-allergenic detergent to wash these things.
For sofas, leather is the ideal material. Dog allergy sufferers will find that the less dander is collected on furniture surfaces, the better it is to control your symptoms.

There are more ways for you to control your dog allergy. But always, the best method is the avoidance method. Yes, we all love our dogs, but try not to spend more time with them. Remember, we all must care for ourselves, too.

Allergy Relief Air Purifier

About ninety percent of Americans spend majority of their time indoors, without knowing that the air inside the home can contain potentially harmful airborne contaminants as much as air outside the home. These contaminants, more accurately called allergens, can aggravate asthmatic or allergic symptoms and cause lasting damage to health.

Some of the following airborne allergens are leading causes of allergies:

Dust mites with their feces
Mold spores
Tobacco smoke
Pollen
Bacteria
Viruses
Gas molecules such as NOx (auto exhaust fumes)

There are also unpleasant odors that could irritate the nasal passages and cause the symptoms in allergic persons to act up. These are formaldehyde (a caustic agent), ammonia (pet and body odors), acetaldehyde (tobacco odors), paints, carpets, adhesives, and other pollutants.

To keep indoor air healthy and allergen-free, an allergy relief air purifier in order. Below is a list of some of our top picks for allergy relief air purifier products. br>
AchooAllergy.com – Air Purifiers for Allergy Relief

AchooAllergy.com is one of the leading online resources for allergy relief air purifiers. Their HEPA air purifiers filter a minimum of 99.97% of particles, 0.3 microns and larger, including allergens and contaminants, such as dust mites, dust mite feces, mold spores, pollen, and animal dander.

AchooAllergy.com has allergy relief air purifiers for room sizes 250 square feet or less, 500 square feet or less, and 1100 square feet or less. Some of their air filtration systems have special features, such as advance particulate and gas phase control, powerful multiple-stage filtration, and optional stop smoke filters.

AllergyBuyersClub.com – Allergy Relief Products and Information

A HEPA allergy relief air purifier is an essential component to maintaining an allergen free and healthy home. The AllergyBuyersClub.com offers products that have all passed their tests. Using a variety of measuring instruments, this online store determines whether or not an allergy relief air purifier offers adequate protection for allergy and asthma sufferers, and also sees how these products perform over time in real life home environments.

Their allergy relief air purifier products include allergen control purifiers, VOC, Multiple Chemical, Smoke and Odor Controls, Safe room air purifies with duct kits, whole house and central purifiers, portable purifiers, particle counters, and replacement filters.

TheAllergyReliefCenter.com – Replacement Air Filters and Allergy Relief Air Purifiers

AllergyReliefCenter.com is your one-stop resource to everything about allergy relief and symptoms. Here you can find replacement HEPA air filters, carbon air filters, and HEPA + ionizer air filters for use in air conditioners, furnace systems, and allergy relief air purifiers, such as:

Taskmaster Pleat-A-Static
Talkmaster healthmate 5
Taskmaster Vent Air Filter Kits
3M Allergen Reduction Air Filters
Panasonic Air Filters, Bionaire Air Filters, and Delonghi HEPA Air filters
Panasonic, Bionaire, and Delonghi Carbon Air Filters
Taskmaster 4 Stage

LivinginComfort.com – Leading Allergy Control Products

LivinginComfort.com carries allergy control products including allergy relief air purifier systems from many top brands such as Austin, Honeywell, Hunter, Ultra-Sun, Vornado, Hamilton-Beach, Blueair, and Bemis. Medical professionals have recommended the use of these products in homes and offices for those who suffer from airborne allergens or breathing problems.

Latex Allergy

An increasing number of Americans are becoming allergic to latex, a natural substance derived from the milky sap of the rubber tree. Found in Africa, latex is used to make a variety of products, including rubber gloves, balloons, tires, condoms and diaphragms, and elastic bands. They may also be found in healthcare products, such as catheters, intravenous tubing, dressings, stethoscopes, syringes, and bandages. Many of these products cannot be avoided by both the consumer and the healthcare worker, so how can you control latex allergy reaction?

First, you need to know that there are actually two sources of latex allergy, producing two distinct allergic reactions. The first type of latex allergy affects the immune system, resulting in minor skin rash. This type is often blamed on the chemical additives used in making the gloves.

The second latex allergy is a full-fledged allergic reaction to the latex itself. It results in more serious reactions, causing the person to develop itchy, red hives, rhinitis/hay fever, a runny nose, and asthma. In extreme cases, latex allergy may also cause anaphylaxis, a restriction of the air due to airway swelling, which, if not treated promptly, can cause sudden death.

The increase in prevalence of latex allergy is largely due to the increase of latex use. In the medical industry, doctors have been using latex to protect themselves from infectious diseases when touching a patient’s blood, urine, feces, or other organism that may pass on an infection. In addition, more and more medical professionals these days are using latex gloves for simple procedures that never required gloves in the past, such as checking the pus in a patient’s hand.

As a result of this increased exposure to latex, the occurrence of latex allergy also increased. Also, airborne latex particles have also been inhaled, triggering allergic reactions to people predisposed to develop latex allergy. A study confirmed that cornstarch used to coat the latex for easier use in putting gloves on and off absorbs the proteins and shed them into the air. This results in more people inhaling the particles, prompting latex allergy response. br>
Another way for you to avoid latex allergy reaction is to get yourself skin or blood-tested to determine if you have a positive response to latex. Knowing whether you have the allergy or not is always the first step in preventing the condition from occurring in the first place. So once you know, you can now take proper steps to avoid what causes your latex allergy.

For skin tests, a small solution of latex components is injected into the skin. The one conducting the test will know if you are allergic if swelling in the area occurs. Another method is blood testing. To test for latex allergy, a sample of your blood is taken and checked for certain types of allergy-producing antibodies, called IgE (immunoglobulin E).

For a person with latex allergy, exposure to latex could result in a number of symptoms, some of them even life-threatening. The signs may include nasal congestion, a runny nose, and asthma-like symptoms, including shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and wheezing. Other symptoms include skin rashes, pus, and itchy skin.

Allergy Relief Medicine

There are many different types of medicine and treatment used to give you allergy relief. However, there are times when regular allergy relief medicines like antihistamines and decongestants are not enough to control allergic reactions. What you need then is additional treatment.

Allergy Shots: What are they?

Also known as immunotheraphy, allergy shots are a form of allergy relief medicine that works by changing the way your immune system recognizes an allergen. It’s a preventive treatment so the next time you are exposed to allergen substances, such as grass pollens, house dust mites, and wasp and bee venom, you’ll have a better chance at controlling your allergic reaction.

The allergy relief medicine that is immunotherapy involves giving gradually increasing doses of the substance, or allergen, to which the person is allergic. This allows your immune system to gradually get used to the substance. Although this allergic relief medicine can be very effective, it is far from a quick fix. It takes time, usually one to two years, to get your immune system to act normally every time an allergen is introduced into the body. br>
Before you start on allergy shots, you should first consult your doctor. That’s because not everyone is safe taking allergy shots. If you have severe asthma or heart problems or taking a beta blocker, allergy shots are not recommended.

When you consult a doctor about allergy shots, he will first do an allergy test on you to determine exactly what allergens are causing your allergies. After the specific allergens have been identified, you will start getting shots one to two times a week.

Oral Medication

If you find that you want faster-acting allergy relief medicines, then the best choice you have are oral antihistamines and decongestants. Histamine is the substance released by the body when the immune system produces too much antibodies as a reaction to allergen exposure. It is also the same substance that causes inflammation of the tissues. The allergy relief medicine antihistamines provide relief of symptoms, such as rash, hives, watery eyes, runny nose, itching eyes, and sneezing. Decongestants, on the other hand, relieve congestion, promote sinus draining and improve breathing.

Keep in mind that antihistamines and decongestants can have side effects. Some of the most noted ones are drowsiness, dizziness, headache, loss of appetite, stomach upset, blurred vision, restlessness, irritability and dry mouth and nose. However, these effects should subside as your body adjusts to the allergy relief medicine.

Alternative Allergy Relief Medicines

Besides allergy shots or immunotheraphy, there are also other allergy relief medicines and treatment methods that you can use. Among them are the following:

Acupressure – a total body treatment given through clothing on pressure points to stimulate the flow of energy and improve circulation throughout the body
Acupuncture – offers effective treatment for hay fever, one of the symptoms of allergies
BioSET – a four-step process focusing on specific organ detoxification, bioenergetic testing, enzyme therapy, and allergy elimination techniques
Chiropractic Care – not a treatment for allergies, however, it does permit the nervous system to function with less stress and the immune system to function more effectively

Food Allergy

Each year hundreds of people die from food allergy and other allergies. Over 30,000 receive life-saving treatment in emergency rooms due to food-induced anaphylaxis. Out of all allergies, food allergy has got to be one of the most common, with an estimated 11 million people in the United States alone suffering from food allergies.

The condition develops when the body’s immune system becomes misdirected. As a result, it suddenly sees and believes that harmless food proteins are, in fact, “harmful,” prompting them to attack.

When you have an allergic reaction after eating certain types of food, it means your immune system is responding to the substance perceived by the body as a harmful allergen. Massive amounts of antibodies are produced, binding with both the allergens and mast cells (a certain type of cell containing chemicals). When the antibodies come into contact with these mast cells, they alter the structure of its membranes, causing the various chemicals inside to leak out. One of the chemicals is histamine, which is a major player in inflammation of surrounding tissue.

The symptoms of food allergy could range from mildly inconvenient to uncomfortable to complete collapse of the body, a condition known as anaphylaxis. Many people have died or have been brought to emergency rooms as a result of anaphylaxis brought about by violent allergic reactions to certain types of food.

Common signs of food allergy include the following:

Tingling sensation in the mouth
Swelling of the tongue and the throat
Difficulty breathing
Hives
Vomiting
Abdominal cramps
Diarrhea
Drop in blood pressure br> Loss of consciousness
Death (extreme cases)

Typically, these symptoms appear within minutes or two hours after the person has eaten the food he or she is allergic to.

When talking about treatment for food allergy, the best method is avoidance. If you’re allergic to certain types of food, then you ought to practice strict avoidance of these foods. Food allergy is largely symptomatic, which means that whatever medications or treatment methods are available, they are usually to prevent the onset or for treatment of the symptoms.

Epinephrine, also called “adrenaline,” is the medication of choice for controlling severe reactions.

While any food can cause allergies, 90% of all food allergic reactions are caused by:

Peanut
Egg
Milk
Shellfish
Wheat
Treenuts
Soy
Fish

Peanut food allergy is one of the most common, serious, and potentially fatal food allergies. In a survey conducted by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, the prevalence of peanut allergy in both adults and children alike has doubled up over a period of five years. Peanuts are actually legumes but it is probably unnecessary to eliminate other legumes unless there is good reason to suspect that they cause problems or your doctor tells you to avoid them.

Egg-related food allergy is often mild. However, there are rare cases where egg can trigger anaphylaxis. Food labels must be thoroughly scrutinized for products containing egg or albumen. It should also be noted that well-cooked eggs (as in cakes) are generally harmless. But raw and lightly cooked eggs can cause allergic reactions.

Gluten Allergy

News about the harmful effects caused by gluten allergy has caused many people to completely remove gluten (wheat) from their diet. However, much of the alarm over gluten allergy and gluten intolerance is unnecessary, not to mention unfounded, since a lot of aspects of these two conditions remain largely misunderstood.

First, what is gluten?

Gluten is an elastic, rubbery protein commonly found in wheat and wheat products. It can also be found in rye, barley, and, to a lesser degree, oats. But gluten can’t be found in rice or maize.

Have you noticed how breads and other baked goods are doughy before they are subjected to heat? The substance that causes that “doughy” characteristic is actually gluten. Gluten also contributes to spongy consistency.

But take note that gluten is only one of the many proteins contained in wheat, rye, and barley. Like all other foods, these foods contain a number of other proteins, which could all cause adverse reactions, including allergies. In addition, many wheat products contain other ingredients and preservatives. Any of these could cause allergic reactions. So what you believe to be gluten allergy could well turn out to be a completely different reaction to substances other than gluten or wheat.

What types of adverse reactions are possible?

Gluten could cause several adverse reactions besides gluten allergy. It is often blamed for intolerance (in this case, wheat intolerance, gluten intolerance, and Coeliac disease). But keep in mind that different mechanisms cause different adverse reactions.

Often, the cause of the confusion is in the similarities of the symptoms. But while gluten intolerance often causes painful symptoms, it rarely is life-threatening. The worst that could happen with gluten intolerance is migraines and bloating or skin rashes.

On the other hand, gluten allergy is largely immunological and, in extreme cases, could lead to death or a condition called anaphylaxis. The symptoms of gluten allergy include swelling of the lips and tongue, red rash, asthma, and urthicaria or hives.

How does gluten allergy occur? br>
The allergy occurs after the immune system produces large quantities of the antibody immunoglobulin E (IgE) which binds themselves with mast and basil cells, producing inflammation-causing histamine.

The first time your body encounters gluten, it doesn’t yet react adversely to it, but the immune system tags it as a “bad” substance and keeps track of its codes for its own records, in a process called sensitization. The next time gluten is introduced in the body, your sensitized immune system goes on overdrive and starts mass producing IgE, which again bind themselves with mast cells, prompting the release of histamine.

Clinical experience suggests that this type of allergy is relatively uncommon. However, there are no accurate figures for prevalence. The symptoms could occur within minutes or a few hours after eating or inhaling gluten-containing foods. The more common symptoms include the skin: hives, eczema, angioedema or swelling. It could also affect the gastrointestinal tract, causing abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and oral allergy syndromes, and the respiratory tract (asthma or allergic rhinitis).

Allergy Medicine

An allergy is an immunological response of your body when exposed to certain substances in the environment or the foods we eat, usually protein, collectively known as allergens.

Often with an allergic person, the first time he gets exposed to the allergen, the symptoms don’t occur yet. Instead, what happens is that your immune system will mistakenly identify these allergens that are otherwise not harmful as potentially disease-causing substances. This signals the immunological defense system to produce antibodies that will bind with these allergens and destroy them. The antibodies produced are called IgE or immunoglobulin E.

The next time you are exposed to the allergen, your immune system will auto-react by mass producing IgE antibodies and signaling these to bind with the allergens. Once bound with the allergen, the antibodies are circulated around the body and encounter certain types of cells we have, called mast and basil cells. These cells contain chemical substances, such as histamine, that are key players in inflammation.

The IgE antibodies with allergens attached will bind with these mast and basil cells, altering its cell membranes, and thereby, causing the substances inside to leak out into surrounding tissue. The result is inflammation, one of the most common symptoms of allergy.

An allergy varies with each person affected. Some may have food allergies caused by substances in food that they eat, while others get allergic reactions from the air that they breathe. But no matter what type of allergy you may have, the reactions are often the same. Common symptoms of allergies include: br>
Runny nose
Watery eyes
Itchy nose, eyes, and roof of mouth
Sneezing
Stuffy nose (nasal congestion)
Pressure in the nose and cheeks
Ear fullness and popping
Dark circles under the eyes
Hives
Difficulty breathing
Skin rashes
Anaphylaxis and death (in extreme cases)

The best way to treat an allergy is strict avoidance. For instance, if you are allergic to wheat, you should cut out wheat foods and wheat-containing products from your diet and just take vitamin supplements to make up for those that you have lost as a result of your restricted diet. Or if you’re allergic to dust mites, then you ought to keep your house as clean and as dust-free as possible and use even air filters and purifiers just in case.

But often these things are easier said than done. So you’re allergic to cats but you like cats so you keep one anyway. Or you bought a product and you didn’t check the label and in turns out it contains some ingredients that you are allergic to. So even with an avoidance method, you can’t really help suffering the symptoms of an allergy. That’s why allergy medicines are provided for you.

Antihistamines are allergy medicines that help reduce the sneezing, runny nose, and itchiness of allergies. These allergy medicines are more useful if you use them before you’re exposed to allergens.
Decongestants are also another type of allergy medicines that relieve stuffy nose. The effects of this allergy medicine are often temporary, but they are common and can be bought without prescription.
Cromolyn sodium is another allergy medicine. It is a nasal spray that helps prevent the body’s reaction to allergens.
Nasal steroid sprays are allergy medicines that help reduce the reaction of nasal tissues to inhaled allergies.
Though not entirely allergy medicines, eye drops are good to have a round in case of itchiness of the eyes as a result of an allergic reaction.

Allergy Relief

Today, there are approximately 44 million people in the United States of America suffering from allergies and the numbers are increasing. Allergies are caused by hypersensitivity in the body’s immune system. The triggers could range from natural environmental factors like pollen, dust, mites, or mold to external factors that your body comes into contact with, such as food and chemicals in food.

Just as the cause of allergies can be varied, its signs and symptoms could also differ greatly. Some symptoms, like itching and swelling of the throat and nose discharge, are only mildly inconvenient. Others are uncomfortable, such as difficulty in breathing, diarrhea, and vomiting. But in extreme cases, allergies could cause unconsciousness, anaphylaxis (collapse due to allergies), and sometimes even death.

Treatment and Allergy Relief br>
One form of allergy relief or treatment for people with allergies is injections of small amounts of the substances they are allergic to. The method is called immunotherapy and it is based on the concept that once the immune system gets used to these substances, it will no longer overreact when they see them entering the body’s cellular structure.

But such allergic relief treatment can take time. With each allergy relief injection, the dose is increased, until the patient becomes hyposensitized (less allergic) to the allergens because then, the body becomes more tolerant of these offending substances. As a result, relief from allergy is at hand and the symptoms, including sneezing and watery eyes, plus the need for medication, are reduced or disappear.

Who Should Get the Allergy Relief Shots?

The obvious answer would be those people who very clearly have allergic reactions to certain types of food or environmental factors.

“Shots work extremely well in patients that clearly have allergic symptoms, either allergy in their nose like allergic rhinitis or bronchial asthma, where outdoor allergens like tree, weed and grass pollens seem to be a major cause,” says Stanley P. Galant, M.D., an allergist in Orange County, California, and a clinical professor and director of pediatric allergy at the University of California, Irvine.

He further adds that allergy relief shots don’t have quite the same effect on patients with allergies to molds, house dust mites (microscopic insects that feed on human skin cells found on furniture, bedding, and carpets), and animal dander (tiny skin flakes animals continually shed) as those allergic to outdoor allergens. However, with the standardization of extracts for cat dander and dust mites and overall better preparations have helped increase the odds. br>
Immunotherapy, however, is not used as an allergy relief unless skin tests or blood tests have been conducted and the exact culprits have been identified.

John Yunginger, M.D., a member of FDA’s Allergenic Products Advisory Committee and a pediatric allergist at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, says, “You have to show that (the patients) have IgE antibodies to the allergens in question.”

IgE, or immunoglobulin E, is an antibody that the immune system produces the first time it is exposed to an allergen. The next time the allergen is produced, massive amounts of these IgE released by the immune system are what triggers the allergic reaction.

Wheat Allergy

We see stories in the news, magazines, and on TV everyday telling us about some of the horrific allergies that result from eating certain types of food. One such food targeted by these stories is wheat. However, while there is indeed such a thing as wheat allergy, this is not a license for you to skip wheat all together when you find yourself showing even the remotest signs of an allergy.

For one thing, true wheat allergy is extremely rare. And other adverse reactions to wheat are also uncommon (0.1%, excluding coelic disease). A number of people today believe that food intolerance to wheat is rising. However, it should be noted that wheat based food often contains a mixture of ingredients, any of which could cause the adverse reactions.

Secondly, there are two terms related with wheat allergy that are clearly misused. These are “food allergy” and “food intolerance.” People often think that the two are interchangeable and mean the same thing, when the truth couldn’t be any farther. The differences between these two conditions are vast. br>
Food intolerance is rarely life-threatening. It will not trigger the immune system to overreact quite in the same way as in food wheat allergy. However, it may cause symptoms like migraines, bloating or skin rashes, and in some cases, worsen the effects of conditions such as asthma, eczema, or migraines.

On the other hand, a food wheat allergy is largely immunological. It is an abnormal response to a food that is triggered by the immune system and is far more serious in nature. According to the Food Standards Agency, the food allergen is seen as ‘foreign” by the immune system and initiates an immune response and the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE). IgE binds to mast cells in the mouth, nose, and gut and causes the release of histamine which is responsible for inflammation and other symptoms of allergic reactions.

Food allergy, like wheat allergy, may produce violent reactions, from swelling of the lips and tongue (oedema) or a red rash to, in extreme cases, fatal anaphylaxis. Additional symptoms of wheat allergy may also include asthma and urticaria, or what is commonly known as hives.

A vast majority of people claiming they have wheat allergy may at worst have only food intolerance. Often, the case is that a person has, at one time, tried to remove a food from his diet, say for example, cheese. And the next time they eat it, they develop a headache, prompting them to believe that they are allergic to it.

The Flour Advisory Bureau commissioned a survey in 2001 showing that more than 40% of women have eliminated specific foods from their diet over the last five years. Health professionals are concerned that fashionable fads like cutting out foods, such as wheat, could put women at risk. Most of the women who admitted eliminating wheat from their diet because of fear that they have wheat allergy had taken no dietary advice whatsoever about making such whole-scale changes to their diet or received no information on how to replace the nutrients they were losing.

The lesson, therefore, is not to immediately jump to conclusions when you have a bad experience with food. When you get a reaction from certain kinds of food, like wheat, be sure to write it down, or keep a food diary.

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