Are You Driving Everyone Crazy at Work?

Constant sneezing and throat-clearing, both symptoms of allergies, can irritate co-workers. There is a solution that will make everyone happy — immunotherapy.

Is there someone in your office who always sneezes, coughs and/or continuously clears their throat? That person may be suffering from allergy symptoms that include post-nasal drip. Co-workers offer a “bless you” once or twice, but the well wishes gradually taper off as thoroughly annoyed office mates secretly wish that person would get their allergies under control and put everyone out of their misery. It’s certainly not your fault but if you’ve been noticing dirty looks, you might be that person.

Similarly, is there a student at your child’s school who just looks miserable — suffering daily with watery eyes, runny nose, lack of energy and fleeting attention? The teacher and fellow students undoubtedly feel bad for that child — at least at first. But when symptoms continue day after day, sympathy turns to frustration and friends find excuses to slink away. That child’s grades are likely to suffer as a result of inattention and/or missed days. For this great, smart kid who isn’t achieving their deserved social or intellectual status, top notch performance seems an impossible dream. Is that your child?

Whether it’s you, your child, or someone who shares your air, there IS a solution that can clear symptoms and restore good relations — immunotherapy. Here are three need-to-know points about it … First, it can resolve reactions to multiple allergens like ragweed, mold and cat dander. Second, it lasts for years. Third, it’s entirely natural — it’s not medication. Immunotherapy exposes your immune system to very small quantities of the allergens, effectively teaching it “see, they’re really not so bad.” Since your system stops trying to fight off these harmless particles, your symptoms subside greatly or disappear altogether.

Allergy drops and shots are both forms of immunotherapy and they’re both effective. One of the major benefits of drops is you can take them at home — or on the road — so there’s no need to miss work or school for weekly doctor appointments, which are required with shots. (Missing work or school may be another strain on relationships with co-workers, friends and teachers.) Drops are affordable and are ideal for everyone from children to seniors. The upside of shots is that, currently, more insurance companies pay for them (co-pay and deductible may apply.)  In the long run, both shots and drops will likely be less expensive than medications — and will almost certainly be more effective.

If you or your child are the ones getting on everyone’s nerves, through no fault of your own, it’s time to put your allergies behind you and patch up those strained relationships. Talk to your doctor about immunotherapy. If it’s someone else, don’t bludgeon them to death — point them to https://www.allervision.com/allergies.

Got Allergies for the First Time? Here’s Who to Blame and What to Do About It

Your entire childhood you were allergy free — rolling in the grass and running through parks without so much as a sniffle. Suddenly, as an adult, you find it difficult to walk outside during spring or fall without sneezing, enduring unrelenting sinus pain, or just plain feeling miserable. What gives?

Pollution and climate change — which of course are closely related — are almost certainly to blame. Despite new air quality regulations and advances, the truth is that factories, cars and trucks — especially ones with diesel engines — pump a lot of particulates into the air. Constant exposure to those particles exacerbates allergy and asthma tendencies in young and old alike. Even rural areas with a lot of agricultural activity (that have historically bred allergy-free children) have problems, as particulates from manure and dairy waste, among other sources, can go airborne and affect lungs and sinuses.

In the American Lung Association’s list of Most Polluted Cities/short term particle pollution, farming communities in California — Fresno, Bakersfield and Modesto — top the list, though metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh and others are not far behind. Unfortunately, pollution is a fact of our modern lives that we simply can’t avoid.

Global climate change is another problem. With rising temperatures, trees and plants release pollen over a longer season. For this reason, allergy specialists have proclaimed each year “the worst pollen year on record.” And each year IS worse than the one before, with billions of pollen grains filling the air.

Taken together, the particulates from pollution and pollen play havoc on your immune system, which is trying to protect you from this huge invasion. It releases histamine into your bloodstream and, with it, allergy symptoms. Even robust adult immune systems often can’t hold out forever.

So what can you do about it? There’s only one allergy treatment that teaches your immune system that the particles are not enemies: immunotherapy. Available in drops and shots, it helps your body adjust to our dirty environment — and it works for many years. In contrast, medications simply cover up symptoms temporarily. Since pollution and global warming are long-term problems, you should probably consider this long-term solution.

Get Outside on a Beautiful Spring Day Even If…

The sun is shining, the birds are twittering and everyone’s headed outdoors. And, even though you deserve to bask in the great weather as well, you hesitate — there’s a lot of pollen out there, and you know it’ll cause problems for you or your child. Enough punishing yourself — get immunotherapy, get out there and enjoy!

Immunotherapy is a process that trains your immune system to ignore pollen and/or other allergens that cause allergy symptoms; it’s the closest thing there is to an allergy cure. Unlike medications that simply hide symptoms temporarily, immunotherapy is a long term solution. You can start treatment now, and every year when spring rolls around, you’ll be first out the door on those bright, beautiful days — even if pollen is flying everywhere.

To find an AllerVision-affiliated provider who can test you for allergies and tailor immunotherapy — such as easy, super-convenient allergy drops — to your specific triggers, click here. Then look out the window; you’ll be able to savor the the great outdoors soon.

Spring – A Time for Love … and Pollen

A pine tree releases up to five lbs. of pollen, which will be distributed for miles by the wind. February is the start of pollen season. (Image source:Wikipedia)

Whether you’re eagerly anticipating the end of the freeze and the arrival of spring, or dreading it, depends almost entirely on whether you have allergies. If you’re an allergy sufferer, you may already be experiencing those dreaded symptoms; February is the official kickoff of pollen season for trees in many parts of the country.

So what is pollen anyway, and why does it make you feel so miserable? If it didn’t make you feel like sticking your head in the sand until the scorching summer months, the answer would be, if not romantic then at least a little racy. Pollen is a collection of powdery grains made up of microscopic proteins that male tree parts release into their air with the hope of pollinating female tree parts … ideally of a different tree. The wind carries these grains for miles, dispersing them over the terrain to find the perfect mate(s) and increase the chance of successful reproduction. Since this is a very hit or miss delivery technique (slightly more so than an internet dating service), trees — and other plants — release millions of grains of pollen. Put enough pollen out there and, like with internet dating, eventually something good will happen.

With all that pollen circulating in the air looking for companionship, it’s inevitable that sooner or later some will come in contact with your respiratory system. Since the pollen is a normal part of the environment, your body should just be able to ignore it and carry on with little more than an occasional sneeze. However, a pollen-allergic immune system mistakes pollen as a serious invader and immediately summons defenses to fight it off. The result is a wall of mucous and swelling designed to keep the invaders out and a barrage of symptoms that may include runny nose, congestion, sinus headaches, conjunctivitis, skin rashes, coughing, and asthma flare ups; they’re often worse than the symptoms of an internet match gone wrong!

There are a variety of treatment options to quell these symptoms. You can find more details about them in our Which Allergy Treatment is Right For You post. But seeing as it is virtually impossible to avoid these mate-seeking airborne grains, allergic patients should strongly consider the only solution that is actually a “cure” because it teaches your body to ignore pollen season after season: immunotherapy. That’s important considering that at this very moment, pollen from Ash, Alder and Juniper trees, among others, may be swirling around your home. Too bad we can’t offer immunity to bad matches on the internet scene. Welcome to spring!

Make “Get Rid of My Allergies” Your New Year’s Resolution

Don’t let pollen keep you from enjoying the great outdoors. You can overcome your tree, grass and weed allergies with immunotherapy.

Some people resolve to diet. Others commit to exercise more. Whatever you promised yourself for this year, we suggest the additional new year’s resolution (it’s not too late to make one!) of improving your health and wellness by overcoming your allergies. It’s possible, and we’ll tell you how below. But first, in case you need a little extra motivation, here are a few activities that you should be able to enjoy, but which often provoke allergy symptoms: strolling in the park; playing soccer; watching a little league game; exploring a forest; hugging your dog; rolling in the grass; visiting friends; petting a cat; walking outside in spring; cleaning your home; sleeping; breathing.

When we say “get rid of allergies” we’re not talking about covering up your symptoms with medications or temporary treatments. We’re talking about using immunotherapy to teach your immune system not to react to the harmless allergens that it mistakes for enemies. When you do this with allergy drops or shots, your body stops creating allergy symptoms each time it encounters the allergens; in other words, you become healthier!

The first step is visiting your healthcare provider for a pain-free allergy skin test to determine what allergen(s) causes your symptoms. If your doctor doesn’t offer the skin tests, click here to find one who does. Then talk to your provider about whether immunotherapy is right for you. If you are a good candidate for the treatment, your doctor will recommend either drops or shots. Within two months of starting immunotherapy, you may leave your allergies in the dust – not just for this year, but for many years to come! And next year, your resolution can be based on using your good health to reach new goals!

Act Now to Banish Spring and Fall Pollen Allergies

Spring usually brings beautiful weather and lots of allergies. But if you prepare now, you can skip the allergies in 2016 and beyond.

Remember how miserable your allergies made you feel this past year? Next year can be significantly better if you prepare now. Immunotherapy is an allergy treatment that teaches your immune system to accept allergens rather than try to fight them off. As a result, your allergy symptoms naturally disappear or fade into a minor irritation. But it takes a few months for the acceptance to kick in. Since tree, grass and weed pollen seasons typically don’t begin until February or later, now is the perfect time to start immunotherapy. Starting now could launch you into a virtually symptom-free Spring, Summer and Fall in 2016 — and beyond!

Allergies are caused by the immune system over-reacting to a particle (also known as an allergen) in the environment and summoning defenses to fight it off. Immunotherapy, either under the tongue (drops) or by injection, is a process that desensitizes your immune system. Once desensitized, your system no longer reacts to the allergen. Immunotherapy begins by exposing you to very small amounts of the allergen. As this ramp-up process begins, symptoms start to fade and allergy sufferers can wean themselves off of medications. Within two months, most people are virtually clear of symptoms. As the treatment progresses, the amount of allergens in the serum increases until reaching a steady maintenance dose. If you were to start treatment in mid-December, the pollen that will begin flying next February or March shouldn’t bother you!

Another benefit of allergy drops and shots is that they can be formulated to address more than one allergy. So, for instance, if you’re allergic to pet dander, cedar pollen (the source of “cedar fever”) and ragweed pollen (the major cause of hay fever), one prescription can resolve all your allergy problems.

Heading into winter, you may feel grateful that you’re leaving your pollen allergies behind for a while. If you start immunotherapy now, you could be leaving them behind for good! To find a provider who can determine your exact allergy triggers and offer immunotherapy for you or someone you love, click here.

 

Say Goodbye to Hay Fever, Hello to Winter Allergies

Although allergies to pets, mold and dust last all year, they may be more pronounced in the winter when people spend more time indoors.

Depending on where you live, hay fever season might be coming to a close in a few weeks. That’s the good news, and it isn’t coming a moment too soon for the millions of people who suffer from weed pollen allergies. The bad news: with the approach of cold, wet weather, you’ll likely be spending more time indoors where a new set of allergens will step into the spotlight.

Mold, pet dander and dust mites can cause problems year round but when you’re cooped up with them, their effect becomes more pronounced. That head cold or “sinusitis” that just seems to hang around all winter … maybe it’s not a cold after all — it could be an allergic reactions to one of these common triggers. And those recurring ear infections your child gets — they, too, could be caused by allergies.

On the positive side, there are simple ways to fight at least two of these allergens. You can combat mold by keeping your kitchen and bathrooms dry. Be especially diligent about drying showers, where mold likes to grow in corners, and tile countertops where grout can soak up moisture.

Similarly, you can keep dust at bay by cleaning regularly and washing your bedsheets and pillow cases in HOT water weekly. Specialized covers over your mattress and pillows can help control dust mite migration. Dust mites also live in carpets, so vacuum constantly. In addition, dust clings to drapes, stuffed animals and other soft fabrics so make sure you wash them frequently in hot water if you plan to keep them around.

Pet dander can be harder to control if you have a pet, or visit homes with pets. Vacuuming helps if you do it often, but pet hair also sticks onto furniture, clothing and more. And if you let your pet lick you, you’re getting a full dose of allergen right to the face. But who wants to turn away their lovable friend when it’s showing affection? If you can’t keep up the rigid cleaning regiment, and/or don’t want to snub your pet, your best bet might be immunotherapy (allergy drops or shots).

Immunotherapy teaches your body to ignore allergens so allergy symptoms don’t develop in the first place. And both allergy shots, and allergy drops can help you overcome multiple allergies at once — for instance, pet dander, tree pollen and ragweed pollen — so you can resolve all of your allergy triggers with one form of treatment and enjoy the entire year allergy-free. To learn more about immunotherapy, click here.

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Which Allergy Treatment is Best for You?

There are a lot of options for treating your allergies but only immunotherapy can keep your symptoms from returning.

Fall is hay fever season so there is a good chance you are experiencing some allergy symptoms. After all, over a quarter of Americans suffer from significant allergies. And for many, the symptoms begin in adulthood. So the question is, what should you do about them? To a large degree, that depends on their severity and your tolerance for discomfort.

Officially, the first course of action is avoidance, which means keeping away from your allergy triggers. In theory that makes sense but it’s often undesirable and all but impossible. For instance, say you’re allergic to the family pet. Are you going to get rid of it even though everyone in the family — including you — loves it? Now consider tree, weed and grass pollen. Even if you move far away from the source of the pollen that’s bothering you, a good stiff breeze will send it flying right to you — tree pollens travel hundreds of miles. 

When symptoms start, a majority of people turn to the next courses of action: over-the-counter medications and natural remedies, including nasal irrigation products. Sometimes these measures work very well at relieving symptoms short term. The key here is “short term.” What these products do is overcome your current reaction to allergens. That’s great if you get occasional and/or mild symptoms. There are two “howevers,” though.

The first is the side effect “price tag.” Medications often cause side effects, like drowsiness, that can significant reduce your productivity. And they may not work right away, if at all; doctors now recommend you start taking medications weeks before your symptoms normally start for maximum effectiveness. Even if you do that, the only potential benefit is symptom relief. So you are supposed to take meds in anticipation of symptoms you don’t have yet just to get temporary relief from this year’s onslaught.

The second “however” is even bigger. Let’s say, best case scenario, the medication or natural remedy overcomes your symptoms today. Excellent. But tomorrow when you encounter your allergy trigger — be it pollen, pet dander, mold, etc. — the symptoms start up all over again. You’ll be taking the medication, or using the remedy, for the rest of your life. That’s a lifelong commitment to meds.

There is another option: immunotherapy. This natural treatment exposes your immune system to small amounts of the pollen — or other allergens that your body thinks are enemies — until your immune system learns to accept those allergens as normal. When the body stops trying to fight them off, your allergy symptoms decline and often disappear. In other words, immunotherapy actually makes you better. Every day on immunotherapy is a step towards an allergy-free life.

Immunotherapy doesn’t work overnight. It typically takes a few weeks to two months for treatment to start working. For best long term results, you should continue treatment for three to five years. There are three types of immunotherapy: allergy drops, allergy shots and tablets.

Allergy drops have been popular throughout the world for over 60 years. In the comfort of your home, you simply place a few drops of serum (which is composed of the allergens that trigger your symptoms) under your tongue every day. The drops are convenient, easy, safe, nearly side-effect-free and suitable for allergy sufferers of all ages. The best drops formulations are ones that are designed specifically for you. You start with a low dose and ramp up to a higher dose when your body is ready.

Allergy Shots have been used successfully in the U.S. for decades. Healthcare providers administer the shots to you in their offices on a regular basis, often weekly or bi-weekly. Health insurance policies usually cover many of the out-of-pocket costs associated with allergy shots. Both shots and drops can be formulated to address multiple allergies at once. So, for instance, if you’re allergic to cat dander and tree pollen, you can be treated for both at the same time. Like drops, shots start at a low dose and ramp up.

Tablets are a new form of immunotherapy. Each one is made to combat a single allergen. Unfortunately, most people are allergic to more than one thing. But the companies that makes these tablets have targeted the most severe allergens, like ragweed and grass pollen. Tablets start at full dose, so you get a large amount of allergen under your tongue from day one, ready or not.

So which sounds right for you? If you’re symptoms are mild and very sporadic, and over the counter medications do a good job of hiding them for you without too many side effects, you may choose to go that route. But if they’re more severe, you’re tired of the recurring battle with symptoms, you have side effects with the drugs, or you just don’t want to take medication for the rest of your life, immunotherapy might be your best bet. Either way, you should ask your doctor for an allergy evaluation. You should always be armed with information and a definite diagnosis of allergies before taking even the stuff you can buy over the counter.  Once you have answers about the cause, you and your doctor can discuss the right treatment.

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Allergies Took His Breath Away, Drops Gave it Back

Allergy drops have made a huge, positive difference in the life of nine-year old Faris,  from Tulsa, OK.

Since shortly after he was born nine years ago, Faris from Tulsa, Oklahoma has been allergic to tree pollen. So allergic, he often found it difficult to breathe. And with Tulsa’s temperate climate, his allergy symptoms — which trigger asthma attacks, as well — typically persist year round. But one year ago, he started taking allergy drops and, in the words of his ecstatic mother, Michelle, “the drops literally changed his life! He can breathe now!”

Not only can he breathe, Faris recently returned from sleepover summer camp, in the woods, which he enjoyed without symptoms. In addition, he’s signed up to play soccer this fall for the first time, a feat which would have been impossible before. Previously, Faris used nasal sprays and took twice the ADULT dosage of Claritin daily. In addition, he also regularly used QNasal, Singulair, Qvar and an emergency inhaler. He has now stopped Claritin entirely and no longer requires daily nasal spray, though he does maintain his asthma medication as a precaution.

Faris heard about the drops on a visit to his doctor’s office, KIDS Pediatric & Adolescent Care, an AllerVision-affiliated provider in Tulsa. Sammi Byrne, a nurse there, told Faris and Michelle about the drops and Faris was eager to try. “He could not be a happier customer,” said Michelle, beaming.

“We are ecstatic with Faris’ response to the allergy drops,”Sammi expressed. “It is a unique opportunity for our office to be able to provide testing in a familiar environment and offer a less invasive form of treatment to our patients,” 

Now that he is happily and carefully taking allergy drops, both Michelle and Faris are excited about all the normal activities he can finally take part in, starting with breathing.

Allergy Perils Await Your Child This Fall – What to Watch Out For and What to Do

Back-to-school season can expose your child to a wide variety of allergens.

It’s almost September — time for school, football, cross-country, marching band and soccer. There are lots of allergy traps for your child out there. Read on to find out what to look for — and what to do about it.

At school, three immediate threats come to mind. Number one is dust. Most classrooms sit empty over the summer, giving dust plenty of time to settle on tables, books, window frames, etc. Dust mites find a way of hiding inside of window coverings and light fixtures and lurking deep in hidden corners. When teachers return to those rooms to prepare for a new crop of students, dust may be among the last things they consider — if they have time to think about it at all. Once activity returns to the classroom, that dust gets stirred up and fills the air, wreaking havoc for allergy sufferers.

The second potential problem is food allergies. Depending on the severity of your child’s allergies, simply sitting next to someone eating a peanut butter sandwich could be cause for serious alarm. And peanuts aren’t the only risky allergen out there; for some food-allergic kids, a trip to the cafeteria could be like walking through a mine field. While it may be simple to avoid a specific allergen that appears on a plate in its whole form, that same trigger could be an unsuspected ingredient in another dish. Or a trace amount in the kitchen from a previous day’s meal could wind up in the food by accident. The safest course to avoid problems for allergic children is to pack their lunch at home with known ingredients.

And last but certainly not least, there’s good old pollen. It can affect your child at school both on and off the sports field. Grass and weeds are the serious troublemakers in late summer and fall. Football players, runners, marching band members, and soccer players will spend a lot of time rolling around on — and kicking up — grass and weeds. Their parents, you, will likely find yourself at parks and fields for hours where mown grass will take to the air with the slightest breeze. Even the kids who plays sports themselves are surrounded by the allergens floating in the air and drifting off their classmates’ clothing. Aside from the sniffling and wheezing that affects athletic and musical performance, allergy symptoms have a significant effect on attention and concentration in school, and, consequently, on grades. Unfortunately, while antihistamine use may curb the symptoms, side effects from the meds also tend to negatively impact performance.

So what to do about it all? The first step is to take showers and/or change clothes after spending a lot of time outdoors. For the here and now, it may be necessary to take allergy medications to get a handle on immediate symptoms. But equally important, prepare for the next phase of allergen invasion (for instance, winter mold and spring trees) and get way ahead of the curve for next fall by teaching your children’s bodies to stop overreacting to environmental allergens. Immunotherapy is the only fix, and it is all natural with no medication. It trains your child’s body to ignore the allergens that trigger their symptoms so the allergies go into remission for many, many back-to-school seasons.

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