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.

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.

 

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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