Allergies are reactions of the immune system in which normal body tissue is injured. The mechanisms by which the immune system defends the body and by which a hypersensitivity reaction can injure it are similar. Thus, antibodies, lymphocytes, and other cells, which are normal protective components of the immune system are involved in allergic reactions as well as in autoimmune disease and organ transplant rejection. This website discusses allergy remedy and home remedy for allergy.
Allergy remedy with oral antihistamines
Allergy remedy options include oral antihistamines, nasal
antihistamines, decongestants, and nasal sprays.
Oral antihistamines are the allergy remedy drugs most commonly used for treating allergies
and providing acute or chronic allergy relief. Oral antihistamines relieve
allergy symptoms by blocking histamine, the chemical “culprit” that causes many
symptoms. Antihistamines are classified as H1 blockers and H2 blockers,
depending on the type of receptors (on the surface of cells) that they act on.
H1 receptors are associated with human tissue involving capillaries, and H2
receptors predominate in the lining of the stomach.
Newer, second generation antihistamine allergy remedy medications include Zyrtec (cetirizine), Allegra (fexofenadine), Clarinex (desloratadine), and
Claritin (loratadine).
Allergy remedy with intranasal steroids
Intranasal corticosteroid medications are effective but long term safety is still not fully
understood.
Allergy
remedy with intranasal antihistamines
Steroid free nasal antihistamines are only available by prescription. The first
allergy medication of this type was Astelin (azelastine). Intranasal
antihistamine allergy medications have side effects including headaches and
sedation, and a bitter taste when the spray drips down from the nasal passages.
Home Allergy remedy
Home remedy for allergy is possible by following the advice below:
Remove carpet from bedroom.
Remove upholstered furniture from the bedroom.
Wash bedding and nightclothes in hot water.
Decrease household humidity to less than 50 percent.
Remove humidifiers and check air conditioning units regularly for mold
contamination.
Encase mattress, box spring and pillow in mite-proof covers.
Minimize dust and pollen collecting surfaces (e.g., shelving, stuffed animals,
books).
Minimize use of indoor ceiling fans.
Use blinds or washable curtains with shades and clean them often.
Avoid vacuuming when dust-sensitive patients are home.
Keep pets outside or at least out of bedrooms and off of upholstered furniture.
Give pets their own washable beds and wash the beds often.
Use the air conditioner, rather than opening windows, in the automobile and
home.
Bathe or shower before bedtime to remove pollen from hair and body.
Remove visible mold from walls and floors using a solution of water and chlorine
bleach, or a product that contains chlorine bleach or other fungicides.
To control insects, particularly cockroaches, wash dishes promptly, keep garbage
in tightly closed containers outside of the home, remove or repair sources of
water (e.g., leaking faucets, standing water in basements), wipe up food spills
and keep food in tightly sealed containers.
Home
remedy for allergy with natural supplements and herbal products
Flavonoids supplements may be helpful, including
Quercetin. If you don't
eat enough vegetables, you could consider taking flavonoid supplements.
Flavonoids are known to have anti-inflammatory properties.
Quercetin allergy website is
another page to review.
Vitamin C in small
amounts such as 50 to 300 mg seems reasonable.
Acetylcysteine is a
powerful antioxidant and helps support healthy lung tissue.
Mangosteen has
xanthones which have some antihistamine activity.
Butterbur has been studied with
mostly good results.
This herbal extract may be a good allergy home remedy
according to some allergy studies. This root extract has additional benefits
that you can review at butterbur
website.
Does the herb
yohimbe bark make allergy symptoms better or worse?
We don't think it has much of an influence one way or the other.
I have a question regarding 4 different supplements
regarding their safety and efficacy. Lactoferrin (made by Allergy Research
Group), Oxymatrine, Thymus Grandular extract (made by Allergy Research Group)
and Siliphos?
We prefer not to comment on products made by companies that
we are not very familiar with.
Peanut allergy study and review
Many children who test positive for sensitivity to peanuts may not actually have
full-blown allergies to the food. UK researchers found that among 79 8-year-olds
who were deemed peanut- sensitive by standard allergy testing, only 7 turned out
to have true allergies when they underwent more-extensive testing that is less
commonly used in routine practice. As it stands, peanut allergy is typically
diagnosed through a skin test, blood test or both. During skin testing, the skin
is pricked and exposed to a small amount of peanut protein to see if there is a
reaction; blood tests, meanwhile, help diagnose peanut allergies by measuring
levels of IgE antibodies, immune system substances that play an important role
in allergic reactions. The limitation of these two tests is that they gauge
peanut sensitivity -- which refers to the immune system response to peanut
proteins. But not everyone who is sensitive to peanuts has a true allergy, which
means that a person has specific symptoms, like wheezing, hives, swelling or
digestive problems, after eating peanuts. Dr. Adnan Custovic, with the
University of Manchester says a majority of children who test positive for
peanut sensitivity on standard tests do not have true allergies, Dr. Adnan
Custovic did find that a newer type of blood test may be more precise than
standard IgE tests. The technique, called component-resolved diagnostics (CRD),
involves exposing blood samples to specific, purified peanut proteins and
measuring the IgE antibody response. This is different from traditional IgE
blood tests, which use "crude" peanut extracts that contain numerous allergenic
and non-allergenic molecules. Published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology,
January 2010.