While some people look forward to spring and the beautiful flowers that bloom, for others this is a time of extreme discomfort triggered by pollen allergies. Pollen is probably one of the most difficult allergies to fight as it is invisible and is literally present everywhere. Sneezing, coughing, a runny nose, congestion and watery eyes are the most common symptoms of a pollen allergy. However, you can minimise your troubles by following a few simple steps.

Keep an eye on the pollen count: Not every day has the same amount of pollen in the air. Pollen density is also affected by the time of the day. Pollen count refers to the amount of pollen present in the air during a specific time period. You can find out the pollen count of your area online or through a number of apps. Once you know the pollen count. You can plan your day accordingly and step out or stay in.
Plan your time spent outdoors wisely: It isn t always possible to stay indoors even if you know the pollen count is high. However, you can still plan your time so as to not be outdoors at peak pollen times. 5am to 9am are the worst times to step out as this is when most plants pollinate. Hence avoid stepping out during this time. Windy days can also worsen the situation by spreading pollen around. If you must go for a jog early morning, avoid thoroughfares and gardens and instead pick a route around residential streets.
Protect yourself: Face masks may not look very good but can help reduce the amount of pollen being inhaled. If you find yourself sneezing a lot during pollen season, consider investing in a painter s mask that can filter the air being inhaled and exhaled. If you are stepping out to do yard work or know that you re going to spend a lot of time in heavy traffic areas, take your antiallergenic medication before you step out instead of waiting for an allergic reaction to begin.
Have plenty of showers: Try making it a habit to have a shower and changing your clothes as soon as you come home. This prevents the outdoor pollen from circulating in your home. Follow this routine even if you ve simply been gardening outdoors. While showering, do not forget your hair. If you do not want to shampoo it every day, simply rinse it out to get rid of all the pollen.

Pollen Allergy - 4 Tips To Keep Yourself Safe!

If you are looking for an effective immunity boost in your body, you should choose Ayurveda and undertake ayurvedic procedures and remedies. Good health, according to Ayurveda, involves balancing of your doshas such as vata, pitta and kapha and making sure that your agni or digestive system is working smoothly. There are several Ayurvedic ways using which you will be able to boost your body s immune system and its capability.

They are as follows:

Keep your immune system in proper balance by eating proper food: A weakened immune system makes you prone to all sorts of illnesses and diseases. In case the immune system becomes overactive, it targets your body s own tissues, confusing them for foreign invaders and attacks them. Your diet is very important for balancing this fighting response within your body. If your body gets the right nutrients and eliminates toxins effectively, the immune system gets strengthened. You should consume leafy vegetables, whole grain, nuts, legumes and highly pigmented food.

Detox: According to Ayurveda, ama is a primary factor, which leads to the development of diseases. Ama is the name of stored toxins in Sanskrit language and if your body has unhealthy ama, an environment is created where invaders thrive. Ama may occur due to both mental and physical indigestion. Ama and indigestion prevent essential nutrients from reaching your tissues, which weaken your immune function. You need to detoxify your body at regular intervals if you have unhealthy eating habits or get exposed to harmful environmental toxins.

Keep your agni strong: The digestive system or agni is very important for your health and it highly influences your immunity and immune system capability. The ability of digestion, assimilation and absorption of nutrients by the body also determines your immune strength. If your agni gets impaired because of an imbalance within the tridosha, your metabolism is affected, which weakens the immune system and body s natural resistance. Eating food items which are harmful for the digestive system leads to excess ama formation. A toxic environment is created in the body. This factor interferes with the natural intelligence of every cell which is encoded with the will of living healthy and working as a whole, together. Ayurveda aims at restoring this intelligence factor. You can boost your agni by consuming hot water and ginger tea regularly.

Yoga and meditations are important for boosting immunity, according to Ayurvedic traditions. Yoga and meditation help in reducing stress and positively affect your immune system.

Immunity - How Ayurveda Can Help You Restore it?

What is allergic rhinitis?

Allergic rhinitis is defined as allergic symptoms in the nasal passage. Allergic rhinitis can be seasonal (occurring during specific seasons) or perennial (occurring year round). The allergens that most commonly cause seasonal allergic rhinitis include pollens from trees,grasses and weeds, as well as spores from fungi and moulds. The allergens that most commonly cause perennial allergic rhinitis are house dust mites, cockroaches,animal dander,and fungi or moulds. Perennial allergic rhinitis tends to be more difficult to treat.

How does allergic rhinitis occur ?

This condition occurs when allergens (allergy- causing substances) come into contact with the nose, and usually also the ears, sinuses, and the throat. When allergens come in contact with the lining of the nose and sinuses, they trigger the cells to release the chemical histamine, which causes the allergy symptoms described below.

What are the symptoms ?

Nasal congestion 
Sneezing 
Watery " runny nose" 
Itchy eyes,nose,or throat 
Puffy eyes or 'allergic shiners'
Post nasal drip 
Tears 
These symptoms may occur during a certain season or year long. They can occur at any age. 

What is the treatment for allergic rhinitis ? 

A number of medications ,including antihistamines, intranasal corticosteroids, and decongestants are available to control symptoms. Allergen immunotherapy could provide long lasting benefit. You can "train" your immune system not to react exaggerated to an allergen anymore.

Allergic Rhinitis - Signs That You are Suffering from it?

Asthma is a respiratory disease that takes place with a variety of symptoms including breathlessness, wheezing and coughing. It usually occurs when the airways get obstructed, which in turn leads to inflammation of the tubes. So how can you recognise the signs and symptoms of asthma? here is a list of ways!

Risk identification: it has been observed by doctors and medical science that there is no specific reason for the onset of this ailment. It can be caused due to genetic as well as environmental factors. So, in order to recognise the symptoms, you will first of all have to take stock of both these factors. Find out if you have any blood relatives who have suffered from this ailment and try to find out how it started and at what age, so that you can watch out for the same warning signs. Also, if you are more prone than others when it comes to allergic conditions like rhinitis and atopic dermatitis, then you are at risk. Other risk factors also include living in a high pollution zone, as well as being overweight, smoking, working within close range of exhaust fumes and other chemicals, and other such factors.

Symptom identification: to be able to identify whether or not you are at risk, you must identify the potential symptoms including persistent shortness of breath, which may strike regularly. Also, another symptom is not being able to sleep comfortably due to excessive coughing and breath shortness as well as shallow breathing and wheezing. You may also experience some amount of chest tightening or constriction. These symptoms will usually get worse if you happen to be suffering from the flu or a cold. 

Respiratory health: if you are suspecting the onset of this disease, it would be a good idea to watch your respiratory health by observing the rise and fall of your breath when you are doing energy consuming and strenuous activities like exercising or other such tasks. Sports induced asthma is an actual condition that can get worse when your lungs are faced with cold and dry air. Also, if you are facing exhaust fumes and chemicals as a part of your job, then you are at risk of occupational asthma, in which case you should watch your respiratory health very closely. These symptoms can also get worse when you are around animals and pets due to the allergens that may trigger wheezing and coughing. A lung function test can be conducted by the pulmonologist in case you are suffering from any of these symptoms and conditions on a persistence and prolonged basis. 

Knowing and reporting your symptoms to the doctor is important for getting timely treatment.

How to Recognise Asthma?

Nuts are a rich source of energy but are also one of the most common food allergens. Both children and adults can suffer from nut allergies. While some children may outgrow the allergy, for others this is a lifelong condition. When it comes to children, the sibling of a child who is allergic to nuts also has a high risk of being allergic to them as well.

Nut allergies can be categorized as an allergy to peanuts or an allergy to tree nuts. Tree nuts are nuts that grow on trees such as walnuts, cashew nuts and almonds. Peanuts are not considered tree nuts as they grow underground in the form of legumes. A person can be allergic to both types of nuts but it is not necessary that if you are allergic to peanuts, you should avoid almonds as well and vice versa.

There are laboratory tests to determine the types of food you can be allergic to but in most cases, you realize you are allergic to something only after consuming it. Some of the symptoms of nut allergies include:

Redness
Rashes
Tenderness of the skin
Hives
Swelling of the hands and feet
Sneezing
Runny nose
Sore throat
Watery eyes
Nausea
Vomiting
Stomach cramps
Diarrhea
Shortness of breath
Most of the symptoms that affect the skin and respiratory system can be relieved with the help of antihistamines. Cold compresses can also help relieve itchiness caused by nut allergies.
One of the most severe forms of nut allergies can result in Anaphylaxis. This can be described as the swelling of the throat so much so that the airways are blocked and it becomes difficult to breathe. It is often accompanied by swelling of the facial features and itchiness. The only way to relieve this swelling is with an adrenaline injection. This reduces the swelling and reopens the airways. The most common type of adrenaline injection is known as an epi pen.

Some types of foods that commonly contain nuts and should be avoided include baked goods, pesto, nougat, marzipan, soups, multigrain bread, honey, granola, sauces such as hot sauce and barbeque sauce, salad dressings and veggie burgers. Nuts are often also used as thickening agents and hence if you know you are allergic to nuts, pay attention to food labels before you buy any product and make it a habit to tell your server in a restaurant that you are allergic to nuts.

Nuts - How To Know If You Are Allergic To Them?

With the increase in pollution, there has been a significant increase in allergies and asthma patients off late. The reason is that apart from genetic problems, allergens or pollutants play a significant role. Homeopathy is the best way to treat these with less or no side effects!

Allergens

These are types of antigens responsible for drastic immune responses. Here, the immune system acts against these to protect the body and the reactions are called allergies. Allergy can be expressed via sneezing or rashes, itching, redness in eyes, vomiting and so on.

Types of allergens

1. One could have food allergies from foods such as peanuts (a legume), nuts, seafood and shellfish.

2. Other allergens could be, but not limited to dust mite excretion, pollen, pet dander and royal jelly.

3. Some drugs, dander or even dye can also cause allergy.

Homeopathic treatment for allergies

1. Ailanthus: for those allergic to smell of flowers

2. Apis mel: for those allergic to heat

3. Argentum nit: for those allergic to sugar

4. Arsenic album: helps patients allergic to cold drinks; fruits; rotten foods, iodine

5. Bryonia: for those allergic to castor oil

6. Carbo veg: helps those allergic to aspirin; bad liquors, salt butter, bad eggs, poultry items

7. Dulcamara: act against dampness allergy

8. Histamine: act against dust and strong perfumes allergies

9. Justicia adhatoda: for those allergic to dust

10. Petroleum: helps those allergic to cabbage

11. Natrum mur: helps those allergic to bread and acidic food

12. Nitri-spiritus dulcis: acts against cheese allergy

13. Nux vom: for those allergic to coffee

14. Sepia: for those allergic to warm boiled milk

15. Sulphur: act against antibiotic allergy

16. Tellurium: for those allergic to rice

17. Thuja: for those allergic to sweets; fatty meats, onion

Know about asthma before you treat it

In case of asthma, lungs are affected causing inflammation of lungs thereby narrowing airways. Asthma can start by allergies.

Symptoms

1. Tightening of chest

2. Difficulty in breathing

3. Persistent cough, particularly at night.

Homeopathic remedies

1. Natrum sulphuricum cures children: in case of hereditary cases, this is effective. Important symptom to have the remedy is wheezing.

2. Arsenic album for all: it is effective in acute phase as well as chronic state.

3. Sambucus for children: it is given if the attack is sudden at night.

Asthma is a form of allergy. However, it can co-exist with other nasal and skin allergy symptoms. Arsenic, allium cepa and histaminum are homeopathic remedies for asthma along with nasal allergy.

Now you know what is to be given and when. It is advisable to call up a doctor in case of severity.

Allergy or Asthma Cure in Homoeopathy

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