Let's Talk Allergies

Chronic Cough? May Be Allergies

Coughing is a natural function of a healthy body. It is your body’s way of clearing secretions and particles that you might have inhaled. By clearing the lungs and respiratory system, the cough is intended to help your boy fight off infection by evil invaders. But a chronic cough is not natural.

But what if you get a cough and it doesn’t go away? A cough will generally be considered “chronic” after 8 weeks of coughing with no relief. The most common causes of a chronic cough are post nasal drip and allergic asthma. Less common causes can be acid reflux, chronic bronchitis, and the use of ACE inhibitors.

If you have a cough that doesn’t seem to go away, track your symptoms and you will be more prepared to discuss it with your doctor. For instance, does the cough come on at night? Is it only when you are lying down at night and doesn’t occur if you sit up in bed? These are the kinds of things that can help your doctor determine if the cause is allergic asthma (such as from dust mites) or acid reflux. Also, note the foods you are consuming. Be sure to tell your doctor about any medications you are taking. My brother is one of the approximately 20% of people that develop a chronic cough as a result of ACE inhibitors prescribed to control high blood pressure. His doctor changed his medication and the cough disappeared!

If a cold lingers, the post nasal drip can lead to a chronic cough. The constant secretions can irritate the throat and cause a cough. However, this can also mask a cough due to asthma, as it can be triggered by a respiratory infection such as a cold. Cough due to asthma may or may not be in conjunction with wheezing.

If you have allergic asthma or environmental allergies and your cough re-appears, it might be a good time to see if there have been any changes in the home environment. Aside from the obvious, such as the addition of a new pet, did you change pillows, blankets or comforters? Many people are under the impression that if their bedding is new it can’t harbor allergens. Please don’t be in the ranks of the uninformed. Any pillow, duvet, or mattress that you buy new can already contain allergens. That is why it is important to cover your mattress, boxspring, pillow, etc with dust mite proof covers from day one.

So, if you have a cough that lingers, begin to pay attention and take notes. If you need to see your doctor, your careful notes will help your doctor make good use of their diagnostic time.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

Cross Reactivity – Change Your Diet in Pollen Season?

Most of the allergy-related articles you read in the spring time cover avoiding your exposure to those pesky pollens.I have written several posts myself about what to do to minimize your exposure and reduce your allergic reactions if you have seasonal allergy.

Once thing that hasn’t been mentioned is the phenomenon of cross reactivity or oral allergy syndrome.

This occurs when a person has been sensitized to proteins found in certain tree pollens that are very similar in structure those found in foods.

For example, the birch tree (a big pollen producer and the enemy of many a hay fever sufferer) produces a pollen called Bet v1 that is similar to plants in the apple, plum, and parsley family. Because the chemical structure of the protein in the pollen is so close to the structure found in the food, your body gets confused and thinks that juicy apple is a nose full of birch pollen. For the botanically challenged, that means apples, pears, plums and prunes, peaches, apricots, cherries, almonds, carrot, celery, fennel, parsley, and parsnip may be seen by your immune system as birch trees. The reaction is a result of cross reactivity, not a true allergic reaction to the food.

During the birch pollen season, you might want to reduce or eliminate your consumption of these in their raw state. In the case of oral allergy syndrome, you will want to eliminate them year-around. The good news is that like all proteins, these cross reacting pan proteins can be denatured (or broke down). Now that doesn’t mean that you can spray your food with ADMS Spray to denature the way you would with dust mite allergy. What is does mean is that you can apply heat to break that protein down. So, while a raw apple might cause symptoms, apple sauce, apple juice, or apple pie might not. That is because the cooking process (whether stove top, oven or microwave) will raise the temperature of the food high enough to neutralize the pesky protein.

None of this is “new” news. A study done back in 1998 and published in The Journal of Immunology determined that alder pollen was just as bad as birch pollen. It just doesn’t seem to get much attention, so I thought I would bring it up.

Do any of you have any problems with oral allergy syndrome or do your pollen allergies make it harder to eat certain foods? I’d love to hear your stories and how you cope with it..

Til Next Time

Cheryl
The Allergy Store

Allergy Control Products for Seasonal Allergy – Part 3

So far, we have talked about arming yourself with pollen counts (and that nifty Pollen.Com mobile app), knowing when to be outside, when to wear a mask, how to keep from spreading pollen in your house, and how to rinse pollen easily and safely from the nasal and sinus passages. You can get the entire story at Allergy Control Products for Seasonal Allergies, Parts 1 and 2. Today we are going to focus on allergy control products for seasonal allergies that clean the air around you.

If you remember, the pollens that cause the most problems are airborne. That is why it is important to stay inside on windy days when pollen counts are high. It is also very important to keep all windows and doors tightly closed. This is to prevent pollen from coming into the house. Your house should be your “safe zone” where you take refuge from pollens.

But what if the lure of the outside is irresistible? Or what if the temperatures are rising and it’s just too warm or stuffy to keep the windows closed? It is possible to stop large particles like pollen (yes, in the world of microns…pollen is considered large) with specialized filtering material made into screens.

The MicroAirScreen actually repels pollen particles when they come in contact with the material. That is why this screen material won’t clog up like most mat-type filtering media.

These highly specialized screens are designed to allow double-hung windows to be opened to a height of 8 inches. This will permit airflow and ventilation but not allow in pollen, insects, and other undesirables.

When the weather warms and it is time to turn on the air conditioning, you just remove the air screen from the window and store it for another year. In milder climates, we have customers that use the screens year-round, especially in the bedroom.

Speaking of bedrooms, conventional wisdom has always been that most pollen is spread in the daytime. However, at the recent AAACI meeting, I saw a study done in Central Texas that showed that the juniper trees in that area were actually releasing more pollen at night than during the day. This means that people who thought they could sleep with the windows open because pollen counts were low need to re-think that activity.

If you already own an air cleaner, you will probably want to run it on the medium and high settings when pollen counts are the highest. No matter how careful you are in not spreading pollen in the house, it is like death and taxes…inevitable. You are going to bring some in.

So, make sure your air cleaner is working at its utmost to grab that particle and suck it in and hold it tight so you can’t breathe it. Also, if the doors are going to be constantly opened and closed on windy or high pollen count days (think the kids in and out and the pets in and out like most weekend days at the typical family home) then you want your air cleaner trapping those particles as fast as the family brings them inside.

If you have one of the machines that require frequent filter changes, make sure you start the pollen season with a fresh filter. If you don’t have a filter but are thinking of investing in one, I recommend the Austin Air HealthMate. It is the machine I use in my own home and I find them to be reliable and cost-effective over the long term.

Don’t let seasonal allergies stop you when there are allergy control strategies and allergy control products that can help.

Til Next Time!

Cheryl
The Allergy Store