Everybody does it… well not exactly, but at some point outside of the many things on our to do list, recovering from allergies can be an uncanny and highly unwanted task added at the most inopportune time of the day.Usually awakening us just as we’ve reached that last level of the sweetest sleep, it hits us like a ton of bricks! All of a sudden the infamous and most dreaded words you’ve ever uttered in your life, ” My allergies!” has taken center stage.
Allergies chronologically occur as follows: First it’s the itchy-watery eyes, then the runny nose, and finally the big banger, that itch in your throat that you always seem to get so confused on how to exactly scratch!
Derived form the Greek word allos, meaning ‘other,’ many of us are still misguided by what allergies are. Susan Boyer (Myallergies.org-reviewed by Dr. Glenn Birnbaum) described an allergy as being “an over reaction of the body to normally harmless substances.” This harmless substance is also known as an allergen.
According to All About Allergies (a site provided for parents to better aid their children suffering from allergies), an allergic reaction is “an attempt to protect the body, the immune system of the allergic person produces antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE). Those antibodies then cause mast cells (which are allergy cells in the body) to release chemicals, including histamine, into the bloodstream to defend against the allergen ‘invader.'”
While it may sound a bit soothing to know, everybody doesn’t necessarily get allergies because it’s primarily inherited. “My mother has allergies and I got it from her. Most people don’t realize how much of an effect allergies can have on your life. I can’t eat bread and because of that anything with yeast, so I always have to watch what I eat.” said Rondrea Taylor, a sophomore English major.
Sneezing and coughing is hard enough to eradicate at times, others have more serious symptoms such as rash/hives, an affected respiratory tract, or even an upset gastrointestinal tract.
Nevertheless there are different types of allergies such as food allergies, pet allergies (i.e. cat dander), pollen, fungi, household allergy (i.e. cockroach droppings, dust mites), drug/ medicine allergies, and/ even latex (lifestyles condoms).
With the latest cold front hitting the PV area, the good news is there are things you can do to make the showcase of allergies a little easier if it happens to be playing on your channel. However there is not a lot of mainstream medical treatment for most allergies.
Yet, you can do things such as purchasing an air purifier and allergy cold relief medicines. For those of us whom allergies affect a bit more severely, injectable epinephrine (adrenaline) to counteract any allergic reactions is probably best. Not to mention, most allergies (excluding shellfish & perhaps tree nuts) are not lifelong.
For more information, contact a nurse at the Owens-Frankiln Health Center (ext 2511). If any serious allergy outbreak should occur contact your family doctor.