Beating Allergies, Pet, Pollen, and More

Allergens in your Home

Joe Redbaulk from Tokyo writes with this snippet from WebMD "One out of every 5 Americans suffers from allergies. Common causes of allergy symptoms include food allergies such as peanut allergy or milk allergy, and seasonal allergies resulting from grass, weed, tree pollen, or various molds. Cat allergies and dog allergies can also cause miserable symptoms such as itchy eyes, sneezing, nasal congestion, and wheezing. Allergic skin conditions can cause a rash and itchy skin. "

Monitoring and Controlling Allergy Symptoms

Erika Johnson from New York wrote in with this snip "You can reduce the amount of mold in your home by removing houseplants and by frequently cleaning shower curtains, bathroom windows, damp walls, areas with dry rot and indoor trash cans. Use a mix of water and chlorine bleach to kill mold. Open doors and windows and use fans to increase air movement and help prevent mold. "

What Causes Pet Allergies "You may be surprised to learn that in most cases it's not your pet's fur or feathers that cause the allergic reaction. Instead, it's the small, invisible flakes of animal skin (dander) that trigger the itchy, watery eyes, sneezing and stuffy nose in people with a pet allergy."	Levels of Allergens in American Cities "Your source for allergy and weather forcasts. Current local and national allergy levels. Click on your state to see the four day allergy forecast in your area "
Allergic to Pollen? Bill Dronfirm from london writes with this snip "As soon as the allergy-causing pollen lands on the mucous membranes of the nose, a chain reaction occurs that leads the mast cells in these tissues to release histamine. This powerful chemical dilates the many small blood vessels in the nose. Fluids escape through these expanded vessel walls, which causes the nasal passages to swell and results in nasal congestion."	Food Allergies in Children "Cow's milk is the most common cause of food allergies (in addition to being a common cause of food intolerances). Unlike cow's milk intolerance which is usually a reaction to the sugar lactose, allergies to cow's milk are usually from the proteins that are in the milk."
Global Warming Increasing Hay Fever "About 15 percent to 20 percent of the population has hay fever -- or allergic reactions to plant pollen, dust and other airborne particles -- and ragweed is the major cause of the problem in the fall. "	Building a Tolerance to Egg Allergy "One way to help young children overcome egg allergies is to speed up their tolerance by slowly giving them tiny amounts of egg, a new small study shows."

Jaded Health