Christmas Allergies

You may be allergic to Christmas or maybe just the LIVE TREE sitting in your house.

This should be no surprise, but who thinks about it.
Most live Christmas Trees are a form of evergreen conifer such as spruce, pine or fir. These trees are common culprets of allergy sufferers. Normally December is a time when allergy symptoms are reduced greatly. Then you bring in a beautiful, living evergreen. "AChoo!" Then add a blazing fire place. The eyes start watering, sinuses get stuffy.

What is the answer for Christmas Allergies?

• You can continue to get a live tree and suffer through it. 
• You can certainly go with the artificial option. There are artificial trees now that are absolutely beautiful. They are about as much as a live tree and they last for years. And for the smell you can burn an evergreen candle, unless you have allergies to fragrances and perfumes. 
• You can opt out of a tree all together.
• You can start Immunotherapy to handle your allergies all year long. 

Allergena - Texas Trees, offers Immunotherapy for many plant, tree and grass allergens. Like Immunotherapy injections (allergy shots), it is not an instant fix. Start now to prepare for your next allergy season and see how much better you'll feel.

Bad Allergies? These are things that make them worse!

Allergies making you miserable? You may be making a bad situation worse.

Here is a list of some things we do that make our bad allergies even worse:

Stress:

Stress directly reduces the strength of your immune systems, therefore crippling your ability to combat allergy symptoms.

Alcohol:

Alcohol, particularly red wine, is full of sulfites and can make your allergies shoot through the roof.

Bathing in the morning:

You may be the person that requires a shower to wake up in morning. Me too. However, to sleep through the night with all the dust and particles of the day may keep you from getting good night sleep. Do yourself a favor and at least wash your face and pull you hair away from your face.

Wrong Medication: Antihistamines or Decongestant

An antihistamine typically relieves sneezing, itchiness and runny nose.

Decongestants combat congestion from swollen nasal passages. 

Some over the counter meds have both. For best results consult your health care provider.

Contact Lenses:

If you are experiencing allergy symptoms, you may want to find your glasses. As much as you care to clean your contact lenses they will continue to trap tiny air born particles up against your eyes causing you more suffering.

Clothing:

Just like your skin and hair, your clothing attracts and retains tiny particles from your day. Try to wash clothing after each use to reduce exposure.

Perfumes and Candles:

Anything with fragrance added can irritate the lining of the eyelids and nasal passages.

Second hand smoke:

Smoke, be it cigarette, cigar, fire, is an irritant that can mess with your respiratory tract.

Weather:

Dry, sunny, and windy days are most difficult for allergy sufferers. These are ideal conditions for trees to release pollen, meaning more of it will be in the air. Add in wind blowing pollen all around, that makes for a bad day for allergies.

Thank you to the HuffingtonPost for providing this list.

Allergy ProAction as Opposed to ReAction

Allergies are like so many other infections we are more likely to react to them rather than take precautions to prevent them. 

Your body needs regular maintenance and care. There are thousands of studies proving that you need a well balanced diet, regular exercise, and plenty of sleep. Your body also needs bacteria!

What? 

Yes! Your body needs bacteria to maintain a good, healthy immune system. 

Probiotics are bacteria and yeast that your body uses to team up with to promote its own strength. Specifically, your digestive system works best with a balance of good bacteria. When that balance is disturbed, often during illness or the use of antibiotics, you can consume probiotics which are found in supplements and foods. 

Stefano Guandalini, MD, professor of pediatrics and gastroenterology at the University of Chicago Medical Center, says “Probiotics can improve intestinal function and maintain the integrity of the lining of the intestines,” and his research and studies show, "In societies with very good hygiene, we’ve seen a sharp increase in autoimmune and allergic diseases.“That may be because the immune system isn’t being properly challenged by pathogenic organisms. Introducing friendly bacteria in the form of probiotics is believed to challenge the immune system in healthy ways.” (WebMD)

Activia (non-greek yogurt) offers the highest count of probiotics per serving.

The article linked above discusses a few different options for yogurts. 

Probiotics are most often consumed when eating dairy products, the most noted is yogurt. There are several supplemental forms of probiotics including powders, tablets and capsules. When selecting supplements remember that these products are not regulated by the FDA, so stick to well known, time tested companies and for concerns seek advice from your doctor or dietary consultant. 

Hypoallergenic Hotel Rooms

Hotels offering an optional upgrade of Hypoallergenic Rooms!

I recently stayed in a Hilton Hotel in Phoenix, AZ. One of the optional upgrade on the room was Hypoallergenic.  I was like, "What?"
Not I, nor my teens, knowingly suffer from allergies. With that said, we may have minor to moderate allergies and simply attribute the symptoms to other things.

Allergy-Friendly, Hypoallergenic, Allergen Clean... Rooms? What exactly does this mean?

PureRoom.com put together a list of the 7 Step Process involved in providing an Allergy Friendly Room.

1. Deep Clean Air-Handling Unit. This refers to the heating and air conditioning system. These units removed dust and allergens from the flow of air in the room.
2. PURE Tea Tree Oil Cartridge.  A cartridge of this tea tree oil, a natural antimicrobial and disinfectant is installed in the air-handling unit to maintain sanitized conditions.
3. Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning. A PURE cleaning solution should be used to remove dirt, as well as bacteria and mold from all soft surfaces.
4. One Time Shock Treatment. An advanced shock treatment destroys nearly all of the mold and bacteria from a room and all its contents.
5. PURE Shield. This bacteriostatic barrier is applied to all room surfaces to repel microorganisms.
6. Air Purification System. PURE’s air purifier is 24-hour defense against airborne irritants. 
7. Allergy-Friendly Bedding. PURE uses only micro-fiber, mono-filament mattress and pillow encasements for lesser risks of allergy at home. 

This is the process offered by one company to help purify a living space. I'm sure there are others.
Another service offered on The Pure Site is a Find a Room. The site asks for booking information and helps you locate hotels/rooms that meet their 7 step criteria.

I think the allergy friendly trend will catch on to the point that all motels/hotels will offer some if not all of their rooms this way.

Allergies and the Immune System

Our Immune System is responsible for defending against Allergies.

The technical description of how the Immune System defends against allergies is exactly that technical. A great article discussing allergies is at How Stuff Works.  The high points of the article are:

1. Things that cause trouble in our bodies are called "antigens"
2. Some white blood cells (lymphocytes) work to defend against antigens
3. White blood cells are formed in our bones (bone morrow)
4. T Cell (a type of lymphocyte) attacks body cells that have been infected or damaged by antigens 
5. B Cell (a type of lymphocyte) tell immune organs (like lymph nodes) to produce a protein called antibodies.
6. Antibodies are specifically created to defeat antigens, like a lock and key
7. Each allergen is seen by our body as a different antigen, and requires a different antibody
8. Histamines are the memory response of your immune system to reoccurring antigens/allergens
9. This specific process against allergies is called the allergic inflammatory response.  

To pause... I remember hearing on Allergy Medication commercials that they are "histamine blockers." That means they stop your body's attempt to respond to the antigens. 

    

The truth is that anyone who has allergies is miserable during their specific allergy season. The focus should be to improve your bodies strength and resilience to these antigens. Just like we take vitamins to prevent sickness, there is an option to encourage and strengthen our bodies immune response to allergens. 

Allergena - try the Zone specific to you.

Allergy Skin Test

An Allergy Skin Test is an effective way to find out what you're actually allergic to. 

I remember stories about getting allergy skin tests that involved shot and needles, poking and prodding. Currently doctors and specialists can offer much less evasive options. 

WebMD.com

Scratch test, also known as a puncture or prick test: First, your doctor or nurse will look at the skin on your forearm or back and clean it with alcohol. They'll mark and label areas on your skin with a pen. Then they'll place a drop of a potential allergen on each of those spots. Next, they'll prick the outer layer of your skin to let the allergen in. (It's not a shot, and it won't make you bleed.)

Intradermal test: After they look at and clean your skin, the doctor or nurse will inject a small amount of allergen just under your skin, similar to a tuberculosis test.

Patch test: Your doctor could put an allergen on a patch and then stick that on your arm or back.

Learn more about what you need to prepare for an allergy test.

The Mayo Clinic says, "In general, allergy skin tests are most reliable for diagnosing allergies to airborne substances, such as pollen, pet dander and dust mites. Skin testing may help diagnose food allergies. But because food allergies can be complex, you may need additional tests or procedures."

Before deciding on an Allergy Medication be sure to learn what your specific allergies are. You may be surprised, and the results of medication or allergy therapy will be more effective.

Allergy Pioneer has Been Using Allergy Drops for a Very Long Time

Confirmation of Sublingual Immunotherapy is a Good thing, Especially when you already know it works!

I've been using sublingual immunotherapy for several years now. I just started training my body a week or so back for the fall allergy season. So I'm obviously a believer. That's why it's so annoying when I see all the nonsense in mass media about how it doesn't work. Thank you big pharma! Kind of ironic that they are getting on the band wagon themselves these days with various, expensive solutions for what can be done for much less using Allergena products.

But just in case you still aren't convinced, check out this story about an elderly Doctor whose been promoting the concept for a very long time. Then decide for yourself if you should give this effective method a try or not - Read It Here!

Learn More About Sublingual Immunotherapy and Allergena Here!