It’s always good to know some home treatments to combat allergies ; The first one is keep the house clean and free of dust.

If there are dust mites allergies, cover the mattress and pillows and use only synthetic pillows.

Screens on doors and windows will prevent insects flying in and stinging.

On windy days, if you are allergic to pollen, keeps the windows closed to prevent pollen from getting in and aggravating your eyes and nose. Especially between 10AM and 3Pm, that is when the pollen is at it’s highest.

Before turning on the heat the first time in winter, make sure you clean the heating ducts. They tend to collect dust during the summer months and activating the heating system without cleaning will cause the dust to fly all over the house.

Use a air purifier in the house, especially if you have small allergic children. It removes pollen, mold and other allergens from the air.

Use a humidifier to keep the air in the house moist. Dry air aggravates seasonal allergies.

Finding out what food causes an allergic reaction might take some work. Write down everything you or your child eats and note the difference in the reactions. With time you are bound to find which food it is.

If you have itching and hives on your skin – make sure you know what caused it, what plant exactly and get rid of it, or don’t go near it in the future.

If an allergic reaction did happen and the throat is sore – gargle with warm salt water.

Take an antihistamine when you feel the onset of Hay Fever.

Allergies are worse in wet weather. Prevent the formation of mold in bathrooms and basements, and get rid of it as soon as you find a wet spot. Bleach will help kill the mold.

If the allergic reaction is severe, if a difficulty in breathing develops or the face and throat and tongue start to swell or a skin infection develops go to the emergency room. The time it takes for a severe allergic reaction to develop is very short.

It is possible and not too difficult to live with allergy. All it takes is a little planning.

While environmental allergies enter our body through the nose and mouth, and can be avoided or removed, the reaction to the food allergy happens inside the body and that is what makes it much more dangerous.  As the person eats the food he is allergic to, he might feel an itch in his mouth, then when the food is in the stomach he might start vomiting, when the allergens reach and travel trough the blood stream it might cause a drop in blood pressure.

The histamines that are released into the blood can attack the ears, and they will itch, the skin and the body will develop hives or if the attack happens in the stomach it may manifest itself as pain or diarrhea.

The foods that are most common to cause allergies are shell fish (shrimp, crab, lobster), eggs, nuts and peanuts.

In small children the allergy can be caused by milk, eggs and peanuts and they can outgrow them. Adults who develop an allergy to certain food will keep it for the rest of their lives.

Not all intolerance for food is considered allergy. Lactose intolerance affects about one in ten people. It is caused by a different substance. The body doesn’t have enough enzymes to break down the milk. Instead the bacteria in the stomach feasts on it, creating gas and bloating.

The most dangerous for children is the peanut allergy, especially in the United States. It’s interesting to note that different countries have problems with different food allergies. In the United States the peanuts in it’s various forms as peanut butter is highly popular. In japan the most common food allergy is to rice. In Scandinavia it is to cod fish.

The danger in peanut allergy for kids is a severe drop in blood pressure, swelling of the throat up to almost a complete closure that might be fatal. The main treatment is to avoid those foods all together because the allergy might be triggered by a very small amount of the allergy causing substance.

People with severe food allergies have to be able to treat themselves when they accidentally ingest a minimal amount they were not aware of. They should carry with them, always, a syringe with adrenaline and be prepared to self inject when they think they are getting a reaction for something they ate. The symptoms can come about in a matter of minutes.