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Allergies
Allergy is a syndrome of the weakening of the immune system, owing to exposure to usually harmless environmental substances like dust or moisture. The carriers of allergens (the substance that causes allergy) can occur in many other forms, mostly environmental.Mild allergies include hay-fever, which have the typical symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis, itchiness, nasal wetness. Those affected by asthma are more severely prone to facing the extreme side of allergen contamination.
Allergy may affect different parts of the body and the respective symptoms are – - Nose – allergic rhinitis, or increase in nasal mucus
- Eyes – conjunctivitis, redness and itching
- Ears – impaired hearing, possible pain, a feeling of heaviness
- Skin – rashes, hives
The main causes of allergy are divided into two categories – host factors and environmental factors. Host factors include heredity, race, age, sex. The most important among them is heredity although in recent studies there have been random instances to show evidence of other factors. The main environmental causes of allergy are pollution levels, dietary changes and exposure to infectious diseases in early childhood. The threats brought about by the environmental category can be prevented with everyday care from limited exposure to urban pollution, or contamination, careful child care and medically approved changing of dietary habits.
Medication
Allergy treatment may be necessary if one fails to be careful enough to get affected. The medications used for treating allergic reactions are - - Decongestants – Usually administered orally mainly to unblock nasal passages. Spraying is also a way of administering decongestants as is done for Afrin or Vicks Sinex.
- Steroid nasal sprays – These are meant to subdue the inflammatory reactions using drugs like Nasonex, Flonase, Nasocort or Beconase.
- Antithistamines – This category of medication cuts down the action of allergens classified as histamines largely responsible for allergic symptoms. Antithistamines are approved for medical treatment but need to be strictly consulted with a doctor before its usage on children. The drugs also cause moderate drowsiness.
- Compress and lotion treatments – Used for skin allergies.
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