What causes allergies?

Allergens are commonly-found environmental substances that can be found indoors and outdoors. Indoor allergens are present all year round and are known as perennial allergens.

Allergies are an overreaction of the immune system. Allergies are a very common problem affecting at least 20% of the American population.

Exposure to what is normally a harmless substance, such as pollen, causes the immune system to react as if the substance is harmful.

• What are the symptoms of allergies?
• Do we all have allergies?
• What types of plants produce the most allergic pollen?
• Will moving to a new home decrease my allergies?
• What does "Hypo-Allergenic" mean?

What Are the Symptoms of Allergies?

Allergy symptoms can be categorized as mild, moderate, or severe.

• Mild reactions: These may include symptoms that affect a specific area of the body such as a rash, itching, watery eyes and/or mild flu like symptoms such as nasal congestion. Mild reactions do not spread to other parts of the body.
  
• Moderate reactions: May include symptoms that spread to other parts of the body. These may include itchiness or difficulty breathing.
  
• Severe reactions: Called anaphylaxis, (or anaphalactic shock) are rare, life-threatening emergencies where the reaction to the allergen is so intense and affects the whole body. Often starting with sudden itching of the eyes or face and progressing within minutes to more serious symptoms such as abdominal pain, cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea, as well as varying degrees of swellings that can make breathing and swallowing difficult. Dizziness may also be symptoms, since anaphylaxis causes a quick drop in blood pressure.

Indoor allergens include:

• Dust and Dust Mites
• Pet Dander & Cockroaches
• Mold
• Pollen

Dust Mites

Dust mites are microscopic organisms that live in the house dust (and furniture, curtains, A/C systems, beds, etc) of almost every home on the planet.. House dust is a mixture of potentially allergenic materials including fibers from different fabrics, dander from animals, bacteria, mold or fungus spores, food (such as biscuit crumbs), cellulose from plants etc. Symptoms of dust mite allergy are similar to pollen allergy.

You can prevent dust mite allergies by using high quality anti-dust-mite-covers over mattresses, using hypoallergenic pillows, washing sheets weekly in hot water. Keep all areas of the house, especially the bedroom, free of dust and use a high quality HEPA vacuum cleaner. Consider a HEPA room filter to have continuous cleaning of the homes air.

Read more about dust mites here.

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Pet Dander & Cockroaches

Animal's secret proteins from oil glands through their skin, as well as the proteins present in an animal's saliva, this can cause allergic reactions in some people.

Allergies to animals can sometimes take years to develop. Symptoms may not disappear until months after ending contact with the animal. Symptoms include sneezing, congestion, and itchy, watery eyes and other flu like symptoms.

Cockroaches can cause similar symptoms.

Help prevent allergies to pet dander by removing the pet from the home, or at least the bedroom. Keep pets off upholstered furniture and wash the pet weekly.

Cockroach allergy prevention includes keeping trash in closed containers and taking it out regularly. Always vacuum with a high quality HEPA vacuum cleaner and again, consider using a standalone room HEPA filter. Alow it to run continuously as is recommended by various manufacturers.

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Mold

Molds are microscopic fungi that release spores which float in the air like pollen. Due to their exceptionally light weight, these particles can be suspended in the air for hours. Mold is a common trigger for allergies and can often be found in damp areas such as basements or bathrooms.

The symptoms are of a mold allergy are similar to those of pollen and dust mite allergies and include sneezing, congestion, itchy and/or watery eyes, runny nose and coughing.

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Pollen

Exposure to pollen can trigger hay fever or other seasonal allergies. Symptoms can include sneezing, runny nose/nasal congestion and itchy/watery eyes.

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Do we all have allergies?

No. Most people inherit a tendency to be allergic from their parents, although not to any single specific allergen. When one parent is allergic, their child has a 50% chance of having allergies. This risk jumps to 75% if both parents have allergies.

There are a number of different allergy causing substances and the most common ones include pollen, dust mites, mold, animal dander and insect droppings.

If you have asthma, a reaction to any offending allergy-causing substance can worsen your asthma symptoms.

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What Types of Plant Produce the Most Allergenic Pollen?

The pollens that most commonly causes allergic reactions come from trees, grasses and weeds that typically do not bear fruit or flowers.

These plants produce light, small, dry pollens in large quantities that can be carried through the air for vast distances.

Common allergens causes include:

• Weeds: Ragweed, redroot pigweed, sagebrush, goosefoot, tumbleweed and English plantain.
  
• Grasses : Timothy grass, Johnson grass, Bermuda grass, redtop grass, orchard grass, sweet vernal grass, perennial rye, fescue, velvet grass and salt grass.
  
• Hardwood: Oak, alder, ash, elm, birch, maple, hazel, hickory, pecan, box/mountain cedar. Juniper, cedar, cypress and sequoia trees.

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Will Moving to a New Home Decrease My Allergy Symptoms?

Most likely, no. Moving to a different street, town or even a completely differenet climate can not be guaranteed to "cure" allergies. Often, people will relocate to move away from local pollens that cause their allergies, only to find that they eventually develop allergies to the plant pollens in ther new location.

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'Hypoallergenic'. What Does It Mean?

"Hypo" means 'less than' or 'under'. 'Hypoallergenic' indicates a product is less likely to trigger an allergic reaction.

Many of the products we use in our homes every day, such as cleaning products, furnishings and ironically the vast majority of retail air fresheners (like those availabale in every supermarket in the country) have ingredients that can irritate sensitive people. Exposure of the skin to these ingredients -- most often fragrances and chemicals used as preservatives -- can lead to a condition called contact dermatitis, which appears as areas of redness, itching and swelling on the skin, and sometimes as a rash or even blisters.

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