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Can Seasonal Allergies Trigger Asthma

How Asthma Is Treated

Seasonal allergies can make asthma worse

While there is no cure for asthma, it can be managed and kept under control so that you can live a normal life.

Asthma is treated by two different types of medications: quick-relief and long-term. Your healthcare provider may prescribe one or both of these types of medications to help control your asthma. Quick-relief medications such as albuterol should only be used as needed for emergencies. Those with frequent asthma symptoms are treated with long-term controller medications, which are taken on a daily basis to help with airway inflammation and other symptoms.

Note: It is important to use an inhaler properly for the medicine to reach your airways. Make sure your healthcare provider shows you exactly how to use your inhaler, and also watches you use it to make sure you are doing so correctly.

Does Benadryl Help With Seasonal Allergies

Benadryl® is a first-generation antihistamine. Antihistamines do exactly what they describe they block histamine. Histamine is the chemical released as an allergic response that causes allergy symptoms, including sneezing, runny nose, hives and red, itchy, watery eyes.

However, first-generation antihistamines tend to make you drowsy. Do not take them when you must do any activities that require you to be alert. Also, recent research suggests theres a link between long-term use of Benadryl and memory loss. So be sure to talk with your doctor before using Benadryl.

While Benadryl may work for your allergy symptoms, there are other option with fewer side effects.

Can Allergies Make You Tired Top Tips For Managing Allergy Fatigue

If youâre one of the many people who experience allergies, you may have suffered through common symptoms like itchy eyes and skin, nasal congestion, and/or watery eyes. You may have even found yourself feeling tiredâso if youâre wondering if allergies can make you tired, the answer is âyes,â allergies cause fatigue in some cases.

There are many ways that having allergies can impact your energy levels and cause you to feel tired. In fact, thereâs even a name for fatigue caused by allergiesâbrain fogââwhich can make it difficult to carry out everyday tasks or function at your best.

Looking to learn more about the relationship between allergies and fatigue? Read on or skip to our infographic to understand why your allergies may be making you tired and learn tips for combating sleeplessness.

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How Do You Treat Allergic Asthma

There is no cure for asthma, but fortunately symptoms can be effectively managed and treated. Once your allergist identifies what is triggering your allergic reactions, through a skin or blood test, they can help create a personalized treatment plan for managing and controlling the symptoms.

Avoiding triggers is the first and best step in controlling allergic asthma. While many treatments are designed to treat asthma or nasal allergies separately, a few treatments can help alleviate both conditions.

For severe allergic asthma, other medications and treatments may be required. Speak with your allergist to decide the best course of action for you to prevent reactions.

Can Allergies Cause Gas And Bloating

6 Triggers That Increase Chances Of An Asthma Attack

Bloating is a typical symptom of a food intolerance or allergy. The foods most likely to cause this are wheat or gluten, as well as dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. Symptoms of bloating include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation. In some cases, the symptoms can be so severe that the person may need to be hospitalized.

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Is Your Nose Making Your Asthma Worse

Up to four out of five people with asthma also have allergies like hay fever either at certain times of the year or all year round.

An itchy, runny or blocked nose due to allergies can make your asthma harder to control. If that sounds like you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

Disclaimer

It is important to note that information contained in this brochure is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Any questions regarding a medical diagnosis or treatment should be directed to a medical practitioner.

Why Do Seasonal Allergies Make Us Tired

Seasonal allergies can do more than just cause a runny nose or coughwhen left untreated, they can lead to drowsiness and poor concentration, too.

Allergy fatigue is the result of your body working hard to fight off a foreign invader. Its similar to the way your body fights a virus like the common cold or the flu, which can also leave you feeling drained.

When you have an allergic response to something like dust, pollen, or pet dander, your body also releases proteins , which can cause inflammation in your nose. Chronic inflammation has been linked to fatigue and depression.

Allergies can also indirectly cause you to feel tired during the day by disrupting your sleep at night. Common allergy symptoms like coughing, sneezing, and congestion can make it hard to get a good nights rest, making it hard to stay focused the next day.

Treating seasonal allergy tiredness isnt always simple, either. Common medications like Benadryl often cause drowsiness as a side effect. Fortunately, there are ways to manage fatigue and stay alert during allergy season.

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Body Aches And Joint Pain

Joint pain and body aches are possible when allergies cause inflammation, and inflammation, even without inflammatory arthritis, can lead to body aches and joint pain. According to the Orthopedic Institute of Pennsylvania, people with allergies experience more inflammation because their bodies are flushing out allergens.

How Is Allergic Asthma Diagnosed

Allergic Asthma

There are several tests that your healthcare provider can do to diagnose allergic asthma. To pinpoint allergies, your provider may do a blood test or a skin test. In these tests, your provider is looking for the effect of the allergens on your body. For a skin test, possible allergens may be applied to small areas of your skin to see how you react to each one. This can be uncomfortable, but it will show your provider what might be causing the reaction.

Your healthcare provider may also do a few tests to diagnose your asthma. These tests are used to make sure that its asthma thats causing your symptoms and no other medical condition. Tests to diagnose asthma can include:

If you have allergic asthma, your symptoms are typically triggers by something you breathe in. Determining what allergen triggered your symptoms is another part of the diagnosis process for allergic asthma. Try to keep a journal or notes of what happened when you experienced asthma symptoms. If you were outside by freshly cut grass, it could be a pollen allergy. If you were petting a dog, it could be pet dander. Figuring out what you inhaled when your symptoms started can help your provider create a plan to control your allergic asthma.

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What Is Allergic Rhinitis

Hay fever is the common name to describe allergic rhinitis and involves a recurrent runny, stuffy, itchy nose, and frequent sneezing. It can also affect your eyes, sinuses, throat and ears.

Like any other allergy, allergic rhinitis is an inappropriate immune system response to an allergen most commonly house dust mite, pet, pollen and mould. The allergen comes into contact with the sensitive, moist lining in your nose and sinuses and sets off the allergic response.

Allergies Affect Our Patients Around The Clock

Most of our patients that have an allergy, especially Hay Fever/Allergic Rhinitis, tend to know they have them! They spend daytime during peak allergy season feeling the congestion, coughing and sneezing. Most people know how allergies affect their lives during the day, but not many of our patients are aware that allergies can affect the quality of their sleep. As you know from our other articles, the immune system is launched to attack allergens this frequent immune response can disrupt the body in various ways, including sleep.

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What Is Allergic Gastroenteritis

The inflammation of the lining of the intestines is called the stomach flu and is related to allergy stomach pain. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a condition in which stomach acid leaks into the esophagus . GERD can be caused by a number of different conditions, including: Crohnâs disease, irritable bowel syndrome , and ulcerative colitis.

It can also be triggered by certain medications, such as aspirin, ibuprofen , or naproxen , as well as certain foods. The most common symptom is bloating, which can last from a few days to several weeks. In some cases, the symptoms are so severe that the person may need to be hospitalized. If you or a loved one is suffering from this condition, talk to your doctor about the best treatment options for you and your family.

How To Help Your Child With Allergies

Asthma, Alcohol and Pollen, a Lethal Combination

You can tell allergies from a cold because kids will typically have clear mucus, no fever, and symptoms will last six to eight weeks. Dr. Michael also recommends trying a second-generation antihistamine like childrens Claritin, Zyrtec or Allegra to see if their symptoms improve.

To help your kids manage their allergies, it can help to try to pinpoint the cause:

  • Keep a journal or use an app to track your childs symptoms.
  • Check pollen counts on a weather website or an allergy tracker like pollen.com and note whats blooming on days your child has symptoms.
  • Note school days, weekends or visits to other peoples homes. This can help you with environmental factors or pet allergies.
  • Note the season and rainfall .

If there does seem to be a link to allergies, their pediatrician can order more accurate allergy testing.

While kids wont outgrow allergies or asthma, Dr. Michael reports most children can successfully manage these conditions and lead normal, active lives into adulthood.

Allergies and asthma dont have to mean sitting inside and missing out on all the fun of childhood, says Dr. Michael. Playing, running and athletics can all be open to them with the right management.

Use a telehealth visit to talk with your childs pediatrician about allergy or asthma concerns.

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Are Allergies And Asthma Related

Allergies and asthma are related conditions linked by a common airway. They both affect our breathing by blocking the free passage of air between the nose and the lungs.

With allergies, the obstruction occurs in the upper area of the airway when the layers of the nose become inflamed. Sneezing helps to clear the mucus from the upper part of the airway. With asthma, the breathlessness and wheezing are caused by a narrowing of the bronchioles. Inflammation of the small airways layers may cause mucus to increase, making the obstruction worse. The dry cough that develops in the airways helps to clear out the mucus. An allergic reaction in the lungs can develop into asthma, so its important to immediately address the symptoms to control both conditions.

Did You Know:

Seasonal Allergies And Asthma What To Do

Seasonal allergies can make asthma symptoms worse and sometimes even cause a severe asthma attack. It is therefore essential to treat them properly. Firstly, it is recommended that you see your primary care physician to check for seasonal allergies and get appropriate treatment. If your physician considers it necessary, he or she will refer you to an allergist in order to detect a possible allergy. The allergist will be able to diagnose an allergy after carrying out a detailed medical questionnaire and performing skin or blood tests. And here are some tips on how to reduce your exposure to pollen:

  • Get tested for allergies in order to find out which plants you are allergic to. Not all plants release their pollen at the same time of year. Once you know which ones you are allergic to, you can be prepared for the time of year when your allergy risk is at its highest.
  • Follow the pollen forecast of the weather channels, to be able to plan your outdoor activities.
  • During periods of high pollen counts, reduce your outdoor activities and try to go outside after a rainy day. The rain causes the pollen to fall to the ground.
  • Change your clothes and take a shower, washing your hair, after each outdoor activity, to remove all traces of pollen.
  • Keep the windows of your home and car closed.

Was this article helpful to you? Give it a like and share your thoughts and questions with the community in the comments below! Take care!

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Do Seasonal Allergies Seem To Bring Sneezing And Sniffling As Well As Body Aches Joint Pain And Fatigue Here Are Some Possible Reasons Why And How To Best Manage These Symptoms

If you are wondering whether seasonal allergies affect inflammatory arthritis, you are not alone. In fact, patients and experts agree that seasonal allergies can exacerbate symptoms of inflammatory arthritis and impact how you manage inflammation and joint pain.

It is common for arthritis patients to have allergies, including seasonal allergies and many of them notice that symptoms worsen during the allergy season, says Juan Jose Maya, MD, a rheumatologist in Lake Worth, Florida.

Dr. Maya says there are several possible explanations to why arthritis symptoms are exacerbated during allergy episodes:

  • When you sneeze, you increase the pressure in the bodys tissues, including joints, and this causes pain
  • The restriction in air flow caused by congestion can cause fatigue, which would worsen the fatigue of inflammatory arthritis
  • The inflammatory molecules released in the body during seasonal allergies can worsen inflammatory reactions

Take Your Allergy Medication In The Evening

Doctors Debunk 8 Myths About Seasonal Allergies | Debunked

Antihistamines are a common and effective way to manage seasonal allergies, and modern allergy medicines are less likely to cause drowsiness than older antihistamines. However, some people may still feel tired after taking an allergy pill, especially if they havent taken one in a while.

To help reduce drowsiness and feel more alert during the day, take your daily antihistamine in the evening rather than first thing in the morning.

Consistency is also key to reducing the drowsiness caused by antihistaminesthe longer you take a daily allergy medication, the more easily your body will be able to tolerate those side effects.

Not all antihistamines are intended for daily use, so talk with your doctor before starting or changing any allergy medications to make sure its a good fit for you.

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Treatments To Help Allergies And Asthma

Most treatments target either asthma or allergies. Some methods specifically treat symptoms related to allergic asthma.

  • Montelukast is a medication primarily prescribed for asthma that can help with both allergy and asthma symptoms. Its taken as a daily pill and helps to control your bodys immune reaction.
  • Allergy shots work by introducing small amounts of the allergen into your body. This allows your immune system to build up tolerance. This approach is also called immunotherapy. It usually requires a series of regular injections over several years. The optimal number of years has not been determined, but most people receive injections for at least three years.
  • Anti-immunoglobulin E immunotherapy targets the chemical signals that cause the allergic reaction in the first place. Its usually only recommended for people with moderate to severe persistent asthma, for whom standard therapy has not worked. An example of anti-IgE therapy is omalizumab .

How To Avoid Allergy Fatigue

  • Find out whats causing your symptoms

Try to keep track of your symptoms and what you believe may have caused them. Keep an allergy kit at home which will allow you to narrow down the possible allergens causing the symptoms.

You can also keep a journal to track which symptoms are caused when you are exposed to a particular thing. Like if you always feel nauseous after having milk, you are probably allergic

  • Limit the exposure

If you have figured out what allergens are causing allergy fatigue and other allergy symptoms, you can try and limit your exposure to them. If you are allergic to something thats in the air like dust or pollen, try wearing a mask outside.

  • Opt for Allergy Medication

Some medications and prescriptions work well in dealing with allergy symptoms. Allergy Shots can curb the symptoms in about 85% of people suffering from allergic reactions. Although before opting for this route always consult your healthcare provider.

Some allergy medications contain antihistamines, people are often concerned about whether antihistamines make you tired? There are some side effects attached to it. It may cause drowsiness and sleepiness in some people so it is advised not to operate any heavy machinery or drive after having antihistamines.

  • Visit your healthcare provider

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Can Allergies Cause Gastroenteritis

Some cases of the disease may be caused by an allergy to certain foods. A family history of allergy is often present. A subset of patients with this condition have atopy. Diagnosis is based on the history and physical examination of the patient. The diagnosis is confirmed by the presence of specific IgE antibodies in the blood and/or urine. In some cases, the diagnosis can be made by testing for IgG antibodies.

The Different Types Of Pollen

Relationship of Asthma and Allergies
  • Tree pollen is a common hay fever trigger. Its the first pollen to be released during hay fever season, and levels are typically highest from late March to mid-May.
  • Around 95% of peoples hay fever is triggered by grass pollen, which tends to be highest between mid-May and July. And theres strong evidence that when grass pollen levels are high, people with asthma are more likely to need hospital treatment.
  • Hay fever can also be triggered by weed pollen, which is highest from the end of June until September.

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