We’ve seen a lot of changes in the weather, how does that impact allergies?
We’ve seen a lot of changes in the weather, how does that impact allergies?
Changes in the weather tend to make allergies worse but that also depends on what you are allergic to. I find that a lot of patients have issues with allergies when there are changes in the weather. Most patients say it worsens but some say it gets better. It really depends on what patients are allergic to.
What causes allergies?
Allergies are a response of your body to foreign things trying to enter your body. Much in the same way that your body attacks bacteria and viruses it can also attack things like dust, pollen, and even certain proteins. This is when you start getting into food and drug allergies. It is this response of your body attacking these things that causes the allergy symptoms.
For kids, are there certain precautions we need to take?
There is nothing different between kids or adults when it comes to allergies. The precautions to take are, avoiding allergens, keeping living areas clean and dust free, changing out air-conditioning filters frequently, as well as laundering bedding frequently with detergents free of scents and dyes. Remember to keep Claritin or Zyrtec on hand.
What’s the best way to treat allergies?
The best place to start is with over the counter medications like Zyrtec and Claritin. For older kids, nasal sprays also help with runny noses. If these simple remedies are not helping then go in to see your doctor to make sure that it is in fact allergies and not something else. Another thing that helps is consuming locally produced honey. This helps by exposing patients to small doses of allergens. This works like going to the allergist had getting allergy injections. Remember never to give honey to kids under 1 year of age.
Is there anything that we can do to prevent allergies?
There are certain things that are thought to be helpful to decrease a child’s chance of getting allergies. There are certain patterns that we see with children and allergies. We find that first born children have more issues with allergies. We also see that males then to have more issues than females. There have been a link between tobacco exposure and early antibiotic use in children who develop allergies. Trying to limit these are much as possible will help kids have a lower likelihood of developing allergies later on in life.
Closing remarks:
It is important to remember that there is a lot of overlap between allergy symptoms and symptoms of sinus infections. Most of the time not controlling allergies leads to sinus infections. If you have any doubts of whether it is a sinus infection or allergies it is best to visit your doctor.
