Allergies - The Sneezing Sickness

Allergies, particularly what is known as "hayfever" affect thousands of people worldwide. Here's a description of my suffering from dust and sawdust allergies.

 

I've suffered from an allergy to dust, sawdust, and fine particles, ever since I graduated from high school. Shortly after I graduated, I moved with my mother into a small cottage. For some reason, shortly after starting to live in that place, I started getting sneezing fits, runny nose, eyes, stuffed up and itchy nose. My condition became so bad that I went to be examined by the local doctor. His diagnosis was that I was allergic to dust, and fine particles. I expected him to prescribe an effective medication to make my symptoms go away but instead, his recommendation was to remove all the dust from the environment where I lived.  

 

So I helped do a lot of vacuuming and general cleaning in the house, to try to get rid of as much dust as possible. It didn't really work well so when I had a bad attack, I used over the counter allergy medication called Dimetapp. It seemed to stop the sneezing fits and the itchy and stuffed up nose but one side effect was, it made me really sleepy.  

 

Part of the problem might have been that my mother had a habit of shaking out the bed linen, before making up my bed. In particular she would shake out, or snap the sheet before arranging it on the mattress. This seemed to shake out what ever lint or loose material that was attached to the sheet and always seemed to make my condition worse.  

 

When I moved to my work location accommodation, my allergies improved, except when I was close to where a chain saw was cutting wood. The sawdust seemed to make me experience many of the same symptoms as the laundry dust had in the house.  

 

I have learned that it is thought that the dust in a room does not really cause the allergy symptoms. There is a point of view that dust mite insects living on the grains of dust are actually responsible for causing the person's discomfort.  

 

The house mites, like all living things eat, and then eliminate their waste. The mite's eliminations contain various protein type substances. When you breathe these in or they come in contact with your skin, your body makes antibodies. Your antibodies release a chemical known as histamine. Histamine produces all my nasty sneezing and stuffed up runny nose symptoms.  

 

Because my mother also had allergies, it is thought that, I also carry the predisposition to the discomfort of allergies as having allergies is thought to be a hereditary condition.   

 

That doesn't really explain why I get all the same symptoms in a place where there is sawdust in the air. Any time I am around fine particles of sawdust my condition flares up. That is one reason why I would not want to work In a saw mill, or plywood plant where there are fine wood particles floating all over in the air as I would always be a sneezing worker.   

 

I find that by staying away from areas contaminated with these fine particles, my condition has almost completely disappeared.

Allergies - Quality Of Life

In this article we're going to discuss how allergies affect our quality of life and how different allergies affect different parts of our life.

 

Having allergies isn't simply a matter of sneezing once in a while during the day. If it was then nobody would make too big a deal about them. But the truth is, allergies can greatly affect our quality of life depending on what type of allergy we have and how severe the symptoms. 

 

Let's start with the most common allergy, hay fever. Millions of people suffer from hay fever but few really understand how terrible this allergy can be. Going outside and breathing in pollen that starts us sneezing and wheezing is only part of the problem. In itself, that's bad enough. But what about the person who doesn't have a nice comfortable job inside an air conditioned office? This is the poor guy who's maybe a landscaper or gardener. These people work outdoors for a living.  What are they supposed to do? If their symptoms are severe enough where medication brings little or no relief they have two options. Continue to suffer and possibly miss many days of work or find a new line of work. If this sounds drastic, it isn't. Sadly, many people lose their jobs because of medical problems, allergies being among the more common.  

 

For the person who works indoors, they are not always so lucky either. Many people have allergies to indoor mold which is very common in old buildings, especially old schools. There was a recent documented case in Irvington, NJ where the mold situation in the high school was so bad that one teacher became ill enough that she had to leave her job until the situation was rectified.  

 

This is even worse for people with allergies to mold who live in old homes. Many times when the problem gets out of control the person has to sell his home or move out of his apartment. Mold is not an easy thing to get rid of if it has spread far enough and if it does get out of control many times people are forced from their homes. This isn't just a minor quality of life change.  

 

It isn't just people with indoor and outdoor allergies who have their quality of life affected. People with food allergies or sensitivities have their lives sometimes drastically altered. Many people suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome because of allergies to certain foods and because of this either miss time from work or spend a good part of the day at work in the bathroom. In either case these people are forced to give up their jobs because they can't do them dependably.  

 

But it isn't just work that gets the worst of it with allergies. Many fathers with young sons are unable to go outside and play ball with their kid because of hay fever. Others can't go on that vacation with the rest of the family because they have to be close to a bathroom at all times because of food allergies.  

 

The sad fact is, people with allergies suffer greatly. And it's not just a little sneezing during the day.

Allergies - Food Allergies

In this article we're going to focus on one of the most annoying types of allergies, especially to people who love to eat.  

 

You go out to the local pizza parlour, order two slices with extra cheese, sit down at the booth with your pizza in one hand and coke in the other and chow down. A few hours later after you've arrived back home just in time to watch your favourite TV show, suddenly your stomach feels like it's about to erupt like a volcano. You run like a madman to the bathroom just in time to experience what seems to be the complete emptying of your insides. 

 

Welcome to the world of food allergies and intolerances.  

 

In the case of the runs after eating a couple of slices of pizza most likely you're lactose intolerant which is just one type of food allergy. Technically, you can be allergic to just about any kind of food but there are some that seem to be more common than others.  

 

Before we go any further let's define exactly what a food allergy is. Food allergies can be broken down into 2 categories. The first one is hypersensitivity. This is an adverse reaction of the immune system itself and is unrelated to any actual physical effect of the food or food additive. These reactions are caused by immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies.  

 

The second category is food intolerance. This is actually caused by the food itself and is not a function of the immune system itself overreacting to the food or food additive. The symptoms of an intolerance may be very similar to those of an actual immune symptom reaction but the causes are quite different.  

 

Of the two, actual immune system reactions are the more common, though it does appear that a trend to intolerances, such as lactose intolerance, is on the rise. What actually happens with food allergies is that people with allergies produce IgE antibodies to specific epitopes in the food allergen. These antibodies bind to IgE receptors on the mast cells of tissue that are on the skin, digestive tract and respiratory system. The exposure of these antigens causes the release of histamines. This ultimately results in mucus secretion and muscle contraction which then leads to a wide range of symptoms which can range from unpleasant to serious or even severe. How severe? 

 

Allergic reactions to food can be fatal almost immediately following the ingestion of food. Probably one of the most prevalent and dangerous of these food allergies are people who are allergic to peanuts. Just recently, as of this writing, a girl died simply from kissing someone who had recently eaten peanuts. That is how dangerous these allergies can be.  

 

Less severe reactions to food allergies are oropharyngeal pruritus, angioedema, stridor, cough, dyspnoea, wheezing, and dysphonia.  

 

Aside from peanuts, the most common foods that people are allergic to are tree nuts, and shellfish.  

 

Unfortunately the best way to avoid food allergies is to have a food allergy test done and then to avoid the foods that show positive on the test.

Allergies - Antihistamines and Their Side Effects

In this article we're going to discuss the possible dangers and side effects of antihistamines and what people should be aware of when taking antihistamines to treat their allergies.  

 

For the most part, antihistamines are safe. Having said that, antihistamines can have side effects which, if the antihistamine is not properly administered, can be serious.  

 

The truth is, all medications have side effects. Some are mild, as in the case of an aspirin, unless you have stomach ulcers or aspirin sensitivity and others are more serious such as the side effects from chemotherapy, but for the most part, antihistamine side effects are fairly mild. The newest antihistamines are probably about the safest medications that there are. But there are differences between the various antihistamines and their side effects.  

 

The older antihistamines have the most serious side effects. Because technology wasn't where it is now, older antihistamines can make you very sleepy, even to the point of falling asleep behind the wheel of a car. The harsh truth is, antihistamines have the same effect on your brain as alcohol. If you've been keeping up with the latest news you'll notice that people seem to be driving around in a drug induced haze. This is becoming a very serious problem in itself as there are no laws against driving while under the influence of prescription medication. That is most likely going to change very soon. According to experts, there is no doubt in their mind that older antihistamines can cause traffic accidents.  

 

But that isn't where the effect of older antihistamines ends. They also affect learning and exam performance. Studies show that children with allergies who go to school after taking an antihistamine have poorer test scores than children who are not on antihistamines.  

 

Another problem with older antihistamines is that one of the side effects is that people who use them sometimes have difficulty in passing water, or have increased pressure in their eyes. These symptoms, however, are very rare.  

 

With the newer antihistamines, most, if not all of these side effects are a thing of the past. We have certainly come a long way. Therefore it is no longer necessary to use the older antihistamines. 

 

Many people ask, how do we know the newer antihistamines are better? Actually, there are studies that clinically show that they are. 

 

For starters, road safety studies were done. Two control groups were used. The one group was given older antihistamines and the other group was given the newer improved antihistamines. The results were staggering. The reaction time of the old antihistamine group was slower, their turning was more erratic, their attention was poor and in general they did not drive as skilfully. In some cases their driving was so bad and so dangerous that the test itself had to be stopped.  

 

Another study was done on children going to school. Two control groups were again set up. The group that was given the older antihistamines had much lower test scores, sometimes as much as 20 to 30 points lower. Many of the students couldn't even finish their exams.  

 

The only downside of the newer antihistamines, and for that matter any treatment of this sort for allergies, is that they are not a cure and over time a person can build up a resistance to a particular antihistamine where it no longer works. A new one then has to be given. The average length of time that a person can take a particular antihistamine before they have to move on to a new one is between 3 and 6 months.

Allergies - Antihistamines and How They Work

In this article we're going to discuss probably the most common form of treatment for allergy sufferers; the use of antihistamines, what they are and how they work in the body to rid people of their allergy symptoms.  

 

The first question most people ask about antihistamines is what they are. The reason is because when they see these little wonder pills advertised they are seeing the brand name and not what the pill actually is. The most popular brand names of antihistamines are Clarityn, Zyrtec, Allegra and Benadryl. There are plenty more though. The antihistamine industry is a multi-billion dollar a year industry because of all the allergy sufferers but this still doesn't tell us what an antihistamine is.  

 

The best way to explain what an antihistamine is and what it does is to actually break the word down. Antihistamine is composed of two words, anti and histamine. Anti means to be against something or act against something. Which leaves us with what a histamine is. A histamine is something that your body produces in defence to an attack of allergens. It is these histamines that bring on the terrible symptoms of sneezing, itching, watery eyes, etc. that we suffer from when we are attacked by these allergens. Thus, an antihistamine is something that works against the histamines that our body produces.  

 

Your common antihistamine comes in a little pill. How it actually works is quite amazing. What these pills do is release a chemical in our body that is very similar to and looks like a histamine to our body. These look-alike histamines make our body think that we basically have enough of these and keep the receptors in our body from working against them.  In other words they stop the histamines in our body from working, thus relieving the symptoms.  

 

What most people don't know is that this is not the only function of histamines. They also play a very important role in the brain, keeping us attentive, alert and awake.  So, if we stopped all of the histamines in the body from working we would basically fall asleep. This can be especially dangerous when driving a car or operating heavy machinery and in fact, this is exactly what happens when we take old antihistamines.  So if you have any of these laying around in your home, please get rid of them and do not take them. Those expiration dates on antihistamines are there for a reason. 

 

The good news is, newer forms of antihistamines have a much better effect on your allergies with less effect on your brain. How this is accomplished is actually very simple. Some medicines barely make it into the brain from the blood. This is actually not a good thing with antibiotics for brain infections. But when research workers figured this out they started to make antihistamines that also had the same properties as antibiotics, thus making it so that very little of the drug makes its way to the brain. If you read most antihistamine labels today it will say right on it, "non drowsy".

 

In our next article in this series we'll discuss the safety concerns of antihistamines.

Allergies - Allergy Shots

In this article we're going to discuss a common form of battling allergies with the use of allergy shots and how allergy shots work to build up a person's immunity to outside allergens.

 

A growing number of people who suffer from allergies and not finding the relief that they want from antihistamines are turning towards allergy shots to hopefully put an end to their dreaded sneezing, wheezing, itching and misery.  

 

So exactly what are allergy shots? Allergy shots actually contain a very small amount of whatever it is that you're allergic to. If you have multiple allergies, such as a combination of indoor and outdoor allergies, then two shots are actually given. One for the outdoor allergies and one for the indoor allergies.  

 

How do allergy shots work? Well, in theory it's actually very simple. Allergy shots help your body fight the allergen that is bothering you. When you get shots of the allergen itself your body makes antibodies to the allergen. These antibodies help block the effects of the allergen itself. Your symptoms become less severe because the antibodies block the way your body reacts to the allergens. After taking enough of these shots over a long period of time you might start to get relief from your symptoms. This relief should last for a very long time.  

 

Many kinds of allergies can be battled with allergy shots. They work very well with allergies to pollen, or what is commonly called hay fever. They also work for eye allergies, bee sting allergies, and even some drug allergies. In many people, allergy shots can greatly improve asthma symptoms. Most people will get allergy shots after they have exhausted every other option.  

 

Unfortunately, not everyone can get allergy shots. If you have severe asthma or a heart problem you should not get allergy shots. Also, if you take a beta blocker for a heart condition you shouldn't take allergy shots. Children under five years of age should also not get allergy shots. Also, you shouldn't start allergy shots if you are pregnant.   

 

If you decide, along with your doctor, to get allergy shots, he will first have to give you an allergy test to determine what allergies you have. This test in effect is actual treatment as some of each allergen has to be injected into you in order to do the test.  After the results are in, a vaccine can be made which can then be given on a weekly or biweekly basis or for whatever interval the doctor thinks is necessary.  

 

Once you start taking your shots you will at first have to take them every week or every other week. After about 6 months most people can go on what is called maintenance and get shots once each month. This usually continues for about 3 to 5 years until eventually most people no longer need to take shots because their immunity has been built up enough to the allergens.  

 

Allergy shots are normally not harmful but some people do have reactions to them.  If you should have a severe reaction the doctor will usually keep you in his office for about 20 minutes each time you get your shot so that if you have a reaction he can give you something to counteract it.

 

Alcoholism Treatment Options

Learn about 9 different treatment options available for alcoholics.

 

1.    Medications

 

The classical use of medications for alcoholism is to encourage abstinence. Antabuse (also known as disulfiram), for instance, prevents the elimination of chemicals which cause severe discomfort when alcohol is ingested, effectively preventing the alcoholic from drinking in significant amounts while they take the medicine. Heavy drinking while on Antabuse can result in severe illness and death.

 

Naltrexone has also been used because it helps curb cravings for alcohol while the person is on it. Both of these, however, have been demonstrated to cause a rebound effect when the user stops taking them. These do allow a person to overcome psychological addictions to alcohol, but they do not treat the neurochemical addiction.

 

In more recent studies it has been demonstrated that the use of naltrexone while the alcoholic continues to drink can result in extinction of the neurochemical addiction. Referred to as the "Sinclair Method", this technique is used with good results some US states and in Finland but has failed to penetrate much of the world because of the long-standing bias against any treatment that doesn't involve detoxification and abstinence. 

 

2.    Rationing

 

Rationing or other attempts to control use are increasingly ineffective as pathological attachment to the drug develops. Use often continues despite serious adverse health, personal, legal, work-related, and financial consequences. 

 

3.    Detoxification

 

Detoxification  programs run by medical institutions often involve stays for a number of weeks in specialized hospital wards, where drugs may be used to avoid withdrawal symptoms. In severe cases, detoxification may lead to death. To that point, even a simple "de-tox" can involve seizures, if not properly monitored.

 

4.    Post Detox Therapy

 

After detoxification, various forms of group therapy or psychotherapy are recommended to deal with underlying psychological issues leading to alcohol dependence. It is also used to provide the recovering addict with relapse prevention skills. 

 

Aversion therapies may be supported by drugs like Disulfiram, which causes a strong and prompt sensitivity reaction whenever alcohol is consumed. Naltrexone or Acamprosate may improve compliance with abstinence planning by treating the physical aspects of cravings to drink. The standard pharmacopoeia of antidepressants, anxiolytics, and other psychotropic drugs treat underlying mood disorders, neuroses, and psychoses associated with alcoholic symptoms.

 

5.    Group Counselling

 

In the mid-1930s, the mutual-help group-counselling approach to treatment began and has become very popular. Alcoholics Anonymous is the best-known example of this movement. Various branches are available for family members of the alcoholic or commonly referred to as the co-dependents. Other groups include LifeRing Secular Recovery and SMART Recovery.

 

6.    Prevention

 

Some programs attempt to help problem drinkers before they become dependents. These programs focus on harm-reduction and reducing alcohol intake as opposed to cold-turkey approaches. One such program is called Moderation Management.

 

7.    Nutritional Therapy

 

Another treatment program is based on nutritional therapy. Many alcohol dependents have insulin resistance syndrome, a metabolic disorder where the body's difficulty in processing sugars causes an unsteady supply to the blood stream. While the disorder can be treated by a hypoglycaemic diet, this can affect behaviour and emotions, side-effects often seen among alcohol dependents in treatment. The metabolic aspects of such dependence are often overlooked, resulting in poor results.

 

8.    Return to Normal Drinking

 

Although it has long been argued that alcoholic dependents cannot learn to drink in moderation, research by the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) indicates a small percentage of individuals in the US whose dependence began more than one year earlier are now drinking in moderation. In contrast, a high percentage who undergo naltrexone use-reduction therapy are capable of normal drinking habits. Use of Naltrexone involves taking the medication an hour before any drinking occurs in order to maintain this.

 

9.    Societal Impact

 

Today, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence are major public health problems in North America, costing the region's inhabitants, by some estimates, as much as US$170 billion annually. Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence sometimes cause death, particularly through liver, pancreatic, or kidney disease, internal bleeding, brain deterioration, alcohol poisoning, and suicide. Heavy alcohol consumption by a pregnant mother can also lead to foetal alcohol syndrome, an incurable and damaging condition.

 

Additionally, alcohol abuse and dependence are major contributing factors for head injuries, motor vehicle accidents, violence and assaults, neurological, and other medical problems.

 

Alcohol addiction is a treatable disease. If you are an alcoholic or are a family member of an alcoholic, contact your physician for the most current treatments available.

Alcoholism - Disease Or Not?

Alcoholism can be given a lot of definitions and all of them stress the fact that there is a terrible disease that involves addiction to spirits. Apart from the physical dependence on alcohol, there are other psychological, genetic and social factors that may play a role in the development of alcoholism. Many social, economic and public health problems are determined by this very serious disease. 

 

When alcoholism is concerned, symptoms include craving for alcohol, incapacity to have control over the use of alcohol, a greater tolerance to its effects, and withdrawal symptoms during the periods of abstinence. One should as well know that many alcoholics deny having a problem. In many cases intervention is necessary in order to persuade them to start treatment. Treatment in cases of alcoholism usually includes detoxification, counselling and psychotherapy, as well as treatment of associated medical problems, and different programmes for recovery and support.

 

Alcoholism involves physical and psychological addiction to the alcohol, and it often gets to a chronic, progressive form. There are situations in which it can become fatal, when alcohol consumption begins to interfere with your health, your social life or your occupational functioning. Alcoholics often continue to consume alcohol in huge quantities despite the multiple negative consequences of the disease. Nowadays, alcoholism is the most serious form of alcohol abuse. Alcoholism can be also defined in terms like "having a problem with drinking". If one has a problem with drinking, that can result in health or social problems (drunk driving, for instance), but that doesn’t make one yet dependent on alcohol and it doesn’t mean one has fully lost control over using spirits - as in the case of alcoholism.

Alcoholism - What Should I Know About It?

What is alcoholism? 

 

Alcoholism is a disease that affects the part of the brain that controls your feelings, the way you make decisions, and the way you act. People with alcoholism cannot control how much they drink. What causes alcoholism? 

 

Nobody knows what causes alcoholism. People with parents who have alcoholism have a greater chance of getting the disease. Alcoholism may be related to the things we learn when we are growing up. Alcoholism is not caused by a lack of will power or moral values. 

 

How can I tell if I have alcoholism? 

 

It is not easy to tell if you have alcoholism. You might drink socially at first, but over time the drinking can get out of control. Your family, friends, or doctor might notice it before you do. You might drink to help yourself go to sleep or deal with stress and anxiety. Over time, you need to drink more to feel the same way. As the drinking gets worse, you may have some of the following: 

 

• Stomach ulcers 
• Liver disease 
• Mood problems, such as depression and irritability 
• Trouble sleeping 
• Problems with family and friends 
• Problems at work

 

You might have alcoholism if you have tried to quit drinking but were not able to stop. Alcoholism can make you do things you wouldn't do if you were sober. Some of these things can hurt other people, even the people you love. 

 

Where can I get help for alcoholism? 

 

Your doctor can help you find the right treatment program. You also can check with your health insurance company. Some insurance plans cover alcohol treatment only at certain places. 

 

If you have been a heavy drinker for a long time, do not stop drinking suddenly. This can lead to serious withdrawal symptoms. What is withdrawal? 

 

When you stop drinking, your body might find it hard with no alcohol. You might have some uncomfortable feelings. That is called withdrawal. You might feel anxious and confused or have trouble sleeping. If you get "the shakes" when you don't drink, or if you feel like you need to have a drink early in the day, you might need to take medicine when you stop drinking to help with the withdrawal. This is called detoxification (say: dee-tox-uh-fuh-kay-shun, or "detox," for short). 

 

How can my doctor tell if I need detoxification? 

 

Your doctor will ask you questions to see if you need to take medicine to stop drinking. It is important to be honest with your doctor about how much you drink and the kinds of drugs you take. 

 

Can detoxification be done at home? 

 

Yes, but only with close supervision from your doctor. You will need to have another person at home to help you take your medicine. If you have serious withdrawal symptoms or other medical problems, you might have to go to a hospital for detoxification. Tell your doctor if you had a seizure or got delirious when you tried to stop drinking before. 

 

What happens after detoxification? 

 

Detoxification is not enough to treat alcoholism. You should have counselling before and after detoxification. Counselling will help keep you from drinking again. 

 

What about Alcoholics Anonymous? 

 

Alcoholics Anonymous, or "A.A.," is a free support group for people with alcoholism. The people in A.A. help each other stay sober. Most communities have A.A. meetings, and most alcohol treatment programs tell their patients to go to these meetings. 

 

Where can I get more information? 

 

Your doctor!

 

This information provides a general overview and may not apply to everyone. Talk to your family doctor to find out if this information applies to you and to get more information on this subject.