Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Simple Ways to Defend Against Annoying Allergies

Allergies not only can be annoying, but some allergies can be life threatening. If you are one of the one out of five Americans that suffer from allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, or have a serious life threatening allergy to certain foods or insect stings then you know what I am talking about. Symptoms range from coughing, sneezing, runny nose, itchy watery eyes, fatigue, and dark circles under eyes to even worse symptoms of feeling dizzy, itchy red rash, swelling and having trouble swallowing or breathing. When an allergen, the thing you are allergic to, gets into your body, the immune system releases IgE and histamine which causes your symptoms. Allergens can be dander from animals, pollen from plants, dust mites, household chemicals, mold, pesticides, heavy metals, or certain foods. For hay fever symptoms doctors often recommend antihistamines, decongestants or corticosteroids, but these only cut down on the symptoms and don't address the underlying problem of the allergy. These types of drugs can have side effects ranging from causing you to be drowsy, dizzy, nervous, irritable, have dry mouth, and headaches to causing a rise in blood pressure, causing you to be nauseous, have blurred vision, trouble urinating, and sleep problems.

Natural Allergy Relief
If these types of drugs are not for you and you're looking for more natural ways to deal with your allergies, enzyme therapy is a good place to start. You may associate enzymes with helping you to breakdown foods and better digest them. That is true, but enzymes actually have a part in all our biochemical processes.

Enzymes for Allergies
While drugs may temporarily alleviate symptoms they do not cure allergies. Symptoms usually re-occur because one has not addressed the chronic underlying problem that led to the reaction in first place. Fortunately there is a way to remedy allergies at their most fundamental level. Enzyme therapy corrects the overt immune response that constitutes an allergic reaction. Using enzymes to help the body deal with allergens has been documented since 1935 as in a study by Anton W. Oelgoetz MD et al. published in the American Journal of Digestive Disease and Nutrition that found using enzymes actually alleviated not just the symptoms patients had to food allergies, but the allergies themselves. Raw foods generally have their own enzymes making them easy to digest, but cooking foods kills off the natural enzymes in them and the body has to come up with the enzymes to help digest them. Often undigested food is able to get into the bloodstream from the intestines causing the immune system to react and the body to use up enzymes cleaning those food particles out of the bloodstream. A high quality enzyme supplement can help relieve the body of this stress by introducing extra enzymes. Along with enzymes, you can boost your digestive and immune system function with probiotics such as acidophilus and bifidus. There are actually studies that indicate that acidophilus in particular can help decrease pollen allergy symptoms. A convenient way to get your enzymes, probiotics, and the whole food nutrition of two forms of AFA bluegreen algae is with these daily packets you can easily take along with you anywhere. And to give your immune system a boost with beta glucan and mushroom power as well as get the super nutrition from AFA bluegreen algae, this immune support supplement is definitely worth checking out.

Herbs for Allergies
There are many different natural allergy symptoms solutions to try using foods and herbs to see which ones help you get relief from allergy symptoms. Quercetin found in bright colored fruits and veggies may help block histamine and help give you relief from the runny nose and watery eye symptoms of hay fever. There are also studies done with animals indicating that spirulina can block histamine release. Eating foods with vitamin C can also help with some symptoms as it acts like an antihistamine. When it comes to herbs there is a variety of traditional herbal remedies and Traditional Chinese Medicine herbs. You should of course check with your healthcare provider before taking any of these however since many of them don't mix with medications you may be on or can be detrimental or dangerous if you have certain medical conditions or are pregnant or breastfeeding. Some of the more common ones to try, if your doctor agrees they are safe, found to help particularly with hay fever symptoms include Butterbur, stinging nettle, astragalus, Chinese skullcap, ginkgo biloba, horny goat weed, and Japanese apricot. Of course if you have food allergies, the best solution is to avoid those foods that cause a reaction although some experts believe in some cases that enzyme therapy can cause the body to not have reactions to those foods. This is another case where working with your healthcare provider is advisable and in severe cases carrying an epipen with you.

Natural Lifestyle Changes for Allergies
For hay fever suffers it is always a good idea to check the pollen counts in your area and plan your outdoor activities when allergens you react to are low. Leave windows closed and use the air conditioner at home and in your car to reduce your chances of ingesting allergens. You can also shower and wash your hair and change clothes when coming in from outside to avoid bringing pollen into your home, use a HEPA air filter inside, and use a dryer instead of hanging clothes on a clothesline to dry. If your problem allergens involve mold, dust mites, or animal dander use a vacuum with a HEPA filter and vacuum often, hang blinds instead of curtains in your house, use flooring other than carpet, cover pillows and mattresses with special covers to reduce allergens such as dust mites, and possibly use an air purifier. If you have to work outside you can wear a dust mask. For mold allergies clean areas frequently where mold is likely to occur such as in air conditioners, swamp coolers, drip pans on refrigerators, and humidifiers. A dehumidifier can also be used to reduce humidity if you live in a humid area. Always have leaky pipes fixed quickly and make sure bathrooms, the kitchen and crawl spaces are well ventilated.

Allergy symptoms can certainly be annoying, but there are natural solutions that can alleviate some of these irritants and irritation. Try a variety of the suggestions here and find which help you with your particular allergies.

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Sources:
http://www.cosozo.com/article/got-allergies-get-enzymes
http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/allergic-rhinitis

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