The number of allergens are many and knowing what triggers your allergies can get complicated. The common triggers that are known to trigger allergic rhinitis are:

Moulds
Fungi
Pollen, the most common cause for allergies
Dust mites, and the faeces of dust mites that can cause severe allergic reactions
Cockroaches
Animal dander, which includes cat hair, dog fur, and may also include little flakes of skin
Avoiding the above mentioned triggers is more of a general guideline for the management of allergies. The lifestyle changes that you make to manage allergies:

Keep yourself hydrated at all times. Drink about eight to ten glasses of water every day. This will allow the mucous to be expelled with ease, if you experience any nose block.
During seasons like spring, when the amount of pollen in the air is at its maximum, limit your exposure. Try to stay indoors to avoid exposure to pollen or dust in the air.
Make it a point to take a shower before going to sleep as the residues of pollen and dust stuck to your skin are likely to make your symptoms worse.
Use fresh bedding and clothes every day. This will help to reduce your exposure to allergens.
Remove your carpets. Carpets are home to dust mites and pollen grains which become difficult to remove even with vacuum cleaners. Remove the carpets during the allergy season, and replace with hard flooring.
Keep windows and doors shut to avoid dust and pollen grains from entering the house and possibly causing allergies.
Avoid staying around pets. It that is not possible, then wash them at least once a week to reduce allergies.
Prevent inhaling cigarette smoke or smoking cigarettes. The smoke can be very harmful and can increase the risk of asthma in kids.
Avoid outdoor trips during seasons when the pollen count is high.

Allergies - Lifestyle Changes That Can Help Manage it!

Food is a very important part of your life as it provides all the necessary nutrients required by your body and is essentially, the fuel for all things to function within. However, many people may have aversion to certain kinds of food as it causes adverse reactions within their body. Let s look at some of the common food allergies that people commonly report and how to identify them.

Allergies v/s Intolerances: It is important to note here that there is a significant difference between food sensitivities or intolerances and allergies. Sensitivities or intolerances cause adverse effects on your body inevitably when you consume certain types of foods. One such example is diarrhea, caused by ingesting cheese or milk by lactose intolerant people. However, allergies are caused when the immune system within your body mistakes harmless food as something that might harm you and thus tries to protect you from its effects. This results in reactions within your body which may be very painful and problematic.

Common foods that trigger allergies
Some of the common foods that trigger allergies are:
1. Peanuts
2. Shellfish
3. Other forms of tree nuts such as almonds, walnuts etc.
4. Gluten rich grains such as wheat, rye barley, oats
5. Certain types of fish
6. Eggs
7. Soy products
8. Milk (allergic reactions mostly occur within children)

Some other foods which have been known to cause allergies in rare cases are:
1. Meats such as pork, chicken, beef, mutton
2. Corn and corn products
3. Gelatin
4. Certain spices such as mustard, garlic and coriander among others
5. Certain seeds such as poppy, sunflower, or sesame

Symptoms of allergies
In certain cases, the allergies might manifest immediately, almost in a matter of minutes, within the body. However, in many cases, it may take a few hours for it to show up. The symptoms may range from mild to quite severe. Mild symptoms will make it quite hard to actually diagnose it as a food allergy.

Some of the milder symptoms could be:
1. Hives or eczema could form on your skin which may be very itchy. These would look like raised swollen areas that could be red, inflamed, and dry.
2. The inside of your mouth and ears may become itchy
3. You could suddenly develop a runny or a blocked nose and start sneezing or coughing.
4. Your eyes may become watery, red and itchy
5. You may develop a funny taste in your mouth
6. Others symptoms may include throwing up and even loose motions

Other severe forms of allergies can be caused mostly by shellfish and peanuts and other forms of nuts and fish. Symptoms in such cases would look like:
1. Uneven heartbeat
2. Difficulty in swallowing and breathing
3. Feeling of extreme weakness, confusion
4. Passing out or feeling light headed
5. The tongue, throat or lips may swell up
6. Chest pain

Common Foods that Can Trigger Allergy

Is Acupuncture any good against allergies?
An allergy is the result of hypersensitivity of the antibodies in your body to otherwise harmless foreign substances. Conventional practices rely on suppressing the function of antibodies to cure allergies but fail to address the root problem of hypersensitivity. It may also present a series of undesirable side effects that hamper your productivity.
If you are tired of the regular use of medication that accompanies your chronic allergies, you might consider the Chinese practice of acupuncture to cure you instead. A session with a licensed acupuncturist not only cures rashes and redness, stuffed nose, breathlessness, nausea etc. that present themselves with allergies but also act on the real problem of hypersensitivity. Acupuncture cleanses your body from within and is being increasingly accepted as an alternative practice to cure a range of ailments.
Causes of Allergies-
The diverse causes of allergies can be grouped under the following-
 	Dust mites and pollen- Dust and pollen constitute a group of potential allergens that affect the respiratory tract

 	Food- The chemicals in some foods can be potential allergens

 	Drugs- Unnatural physical response to certain medications cause allergies

 	Animals and insects- The proteins in the organisms  body may cause allergies

 	Mold- Inhalation of mold spores may trigger an allergic reaction in your body

 	Contact dermatitis- Contact with certain substance can trigger allergies, causing irritation in the skin

 	Seasonal allergies- Certain allergies are triggered by annual seasonal changes


Treating allergies with acupuncture-
Acupuncture is based on the 8000-year-old Chinese practice of channelling energy or qi through the body by inserting needles at specified points in the body, to various depths. Although the premise of acupuncture remains scientifically uncertain, its effectiveness has been demonstrated in practical areas.

 	In acupuncture, an allergy is a response to blockage in channels through which energy flows in our body. The logic behind the treatment is releasing this blockage by means of needles to restore balanced energy flow and consequently health.

 	Acupuncture initiates the self-healing abilities of the body and most people feel better with very little or no use medicines.

 	The success of acupuncture in treating allergies, especially seasonal allergies is rather high. However, equally high are the results that highlight the placebo effect of acupuncture.

Although acupuncture remains to be clinically proven, it has presented impressive results when it comes to treating allergies, especially those of the chronic seasonal variety. It can eliminate the side effects of medication, though the time taken for cure varies from individual to individual and their body s specific response to acupuncture. If you are looking for alternate practices that relieve you of allergies, acupuncture may just be the thing to try.

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Is Acupuncture Any Good Against Allergies?

Your child is fond of nuts and has eaten a chocolate with nuts but shortly after that develops a skin rash and starts to itch. The rash may even spread to the surrounding area. This is an indication of food allergy to nuts.

What happens is simple - the body's immune system recognizes specific proteins in the food as harmful (antigens) and produces antibodies which can combat them. This leads to an allergic reaction which can vary from something as simple as a skin rash to severe breathing issues.
Though any child can develop food allergies, in most cases, there is a strong hereditary linkage. If parents have had a history of allergy to certain foods, then there is a strong likelihood that the child could have that food allergy too.

Some of the common foods that can cause allergies are as follows:
1. Cow's milk
2. Eggs
3. Nuts (peanuts, walnuts, pecans, cashews or hazelnuts)
4. Soy
5. Wheat
6. Fish (salmon, cod and others)
7. Shellfish (lobsters, shrimps and others)
Of these, peanuts, seafood, and milk are the most common food stuffs that lead to allergies.

Because the child is yet to realize that he has eaten something that his system will not readily accept, the allergic reaction can be described in various ways, as below:
1. Scratching or itching on the tongue
2. Change in the voice - can become husky or hoarse
3. Burning of the tongue
4 tingling of the tongue
5. Funny feeling in the mouth
6. Feeling of something stuck in the throat
7. Itchy feeling or bugs in the ears
8. Throat going thick
9. Bump on the back of the tongue

These are some ways that a child can describe his allergic reaction. Some of the mild symptoms of a food allergy are as follows:
1. Hives (red, swollen, itchy areas on the skin)
2. Eczema of the skin (dry, itchy rash)
3. Nasal congestion
4. Sneezing
5. Itching of the tongue and the mouth
6. Nausea or vomiting
7. Stomach pain

Severe symptoms include:
1. Severe swelling of the lips and tongue that can block breathing
2. Inability to swallow
3. Difficulty breathing
4. Turning blue
5. Dropping of pulse
6. Drowsiness

As the parent identifies a similar reaction when eating the same food item, they can suspect allergic reactions and immediately reach out to the doctor. A detailed discussion will help establish the causative agent. Once that is known, then avoiding food allergies is quite easy. In fact, a well-informed child will know that avoiding certain foods is very beneficial. This will improve the quality of life of the child, help avoid missing school due to allergic reactions, and help avoid the child (and the parent) suffering.

How to Know if Your Child Suffers From Food Allergy

Silicosis is a lung disorder that develops as a result of exposure to dust, which has silica (chemical compounds) content. Silicosis significantly makes you prone to other serious health disorders. It is an incurable disorder and a prescribed dosage of medications in the form of cough syrups or antibiotics can help in the regulation of the symptoms. Inhalers are also useful to clear the blocked air passages. In extreme cases, the doctors might suggest a transplant of the lung to eradicate silicosis.

Causes
Silicosis is caused primarily due to a long- term exposure (usually 5-15 years) to silica. But a short-term exposure (for a few weeks or months) can also result in silicosis, which tends to worsen considerably as time progresses, if not diagnosed in its early stages. Silica is a natural dust particle, which is found in abundance in rocks, sand, bricks or concrete. Once silica gets into your body through inhalation, these particles tend to damage the tissues of the lungs by inflicting minor incisions. This considerably disfigures the lungs, thereby making the whole process of breathing rather troublesome. Long-term exposure to silica might further lead to lung cancer. People who work in mines, glass or asphalt manufacturing industries, iron and steel industries and construction sites are at increased risks of developing this condition.

Symptoms
The Symptoms of Silicosis begin mildly, but tend to worsen with time. The symptoms of Silicosis are as follows:
a. The initial symptoms include severe weariness, repeated instances of coughing and experiencing trouble while breathing. These symptoms usually recur as time progresses.

b. In the latter stages of silicosis, the symptoms gradually worsen accompanied by severe pain in the chest along with fever, night sweat and sudden loss of body weight.

Silicosis might make you susceptible to other infections related to the respiratory systems such as tuberculosis.

Prevention
In order to prevent Silicosis, you should wear suitable protective gear and a respirator on your face while working in a place which has risks of silica exposure.

Causes and Symptoms of Silicosis

A runny nose, Itchy rash, red eyes and shortness in breath are the most common allergic phenomenon which annoys you in frequent intervals, generally driven by several conditions due to hypersensitivity of the immune system towards something usual prevailing in the environment which may not cause any threat to others. It is why you may find different person allergic to different foods or different conditions. 

Diseases such as asthma, anaphylaxis, atopic dermatitis and so on are commonly considered as predominant allergic diseases. But most of the marketed drugs you take are as exasperating as the allergy itself, firstly due to its expensiveness and secondly, it droops you out. Though you may not be able to diminish the pollen in the air, but you can restrict the number of drugs you take by choosing natural remedies as it has been propounded by the medical editor of WebMD Dr Brunilda Nazario. He has also stated that the biggest trend we observe in allergies in these days is not found in any technological innovation or development rather it is the tendency of the common people to go for natural treatment to cure allergy.

 Prevention is better than cure - Cleanse your nose daily before the allergy strikes
According to most of the doctors, nowadays you are commonly encountered by seasonal allergies. It is mainly due to the fact that allergy season seems to appear earlier every year than the previous one. So as Nathanael Horne, MD of New York Medical College advises that you should begin treating allergies before it starts to pose threat. One such step is to spritz a saline cleanse into your nose on a daily basis in order to wash away pollen. Obviously, this particular method would not replace your need for medication but it would certainly minimise your dependence on drugs. In one survey, those who clean their nose twice a day with saline water are reported less nasal congestion than others.

About some of the seful natural herbs which fight allergy
Famous allergist from New York, Dr Tim Mainardi is of opinion that natural herbs are comparatively more effective than any other drugs and among them, one of the scientifically proven fighters of allergy you have, is Green tea because it is a natural antihistamine. According to his suggestion, if anybody starts to take two cups of green tea a day about two weeks before the arrival of the allergy season, it is likely to resist allergic infection. Mainardi also says that there is an another natural herb called butterbur, which effectively fights allergy as well as antihistamines. Apart from this Liquorice root is also a good choice because it helps to helps to raise the level of naturally produced steroid in your body and ameliorate immunity system.

Cook with turmeric to get rid of allergy:
If you taste every Indian dishe, you would get one spice common in all of them and that is Turmeric. Bharat Aggarwal, an Indian allergist expert from Houston considers Turmeric more efficacious than any other drugs in certain conditions as it contains Curcumin. It is why Turmeric may act as a decongestant. Though in the end, it should be mention that before you go with the natural treatment you should consult your doctor because these natural treatments would incorporate various alterations in your diet and medication.

Allergy - Top Natural Cures You Can Opt For!

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