Environmental Allergies
Allergies are not simply a biological blunder. Instead, they’re an essential defense against noxious chemicals - Ruslan Medzhitov
image by: Stephanie Baskin
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Why Do People Get Allergies?
Anyone with an allergy has their origin story, a tale of how they discovered that their immune system goes haywire when some arbitrarily particular molecule gets into their body. There are hundreds of millions of these stories. In the US alone, an estimated 18 million people suffer from hay fever, and food allergies affect millions of American children. The prevalence of allergies in many other countries is rising. The list of allergens includes — but is not limited to — latex, gold, pollen (ragweed, cockleweed and pigweed are especially bad), penicillin, insect venom, peanuts, papayas, jellyfish stings, perfume, eggs, the feces of house mites, pecans, salmon, beef and nickel.
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Resources
Your Environment Is Cleaner. Your Immune System Has Never Been So Unprepared.
A century ago, British scientists suggested a link between increased hygiene and allergic conditions — the first hint that our immune systems are becoming improperly “trained.”
How our environment can induce allergies even before we’re born
If chemical exposures and resulting changes in DNA methylation patterns can be detected early in life, strategies to prevent chemical exposures or the risk to get allergy (or both), particularly in children, could be developed at various levels such as reviewing legislation on air pollution limits or aiming at a better education of prospective parents.
Will an Air Purifier Actually Help With Allergies?
The air in your home can be even nastier than the air outside.
How to Minimize Allergies in Your Home
If you have terrible seasonal and indoor allergies, here’s how to minimize them when you’re indoors.
Natural Solutions To Environmental Allergens
The impact of climate change can be felt all across the globe with rising temperatures, longer allergy seasons and deteriorating air quality leading to stronger airborne pollutants and increased allergy symptoms.
The Magic Molekule
There has never been a better business (or planetary) climate in which to calm and stoke your anxieties about dirty air.
Environmental Management for Allergies
Preventing allergy symptoms is better than having to treat them. Things like keeping windows closed, filtering the air, and not having too many indoor plants can make a difference.
Here's why there aren't better treatments for your allergies
I have terrible, awful, allergies to a whole bunch of things, from dust mites to apples to chlorine. And my list is only dwarfed by the number treatments I've tried over the years. I load up on over-the-counter antihistamines like Zyrtec and Claritin and get shots once a week, but it's still not enough.
Is your home harming you? Asthma, allergies and indoor mould
It is hard to escape indoor mould. It is most commonly found in the wet areas of the home, especially the bathroom and the kitchen, but it can grow anywhere. We all agree that it’s unsightly, but the bigger problem is it can harm your lungs.
Why Do Some People Develop Allergies as Adults?
Dr. Sublett says many factors can trigger the onset of allergies in adults, including high levels of pollution exposure, moving to a home that has mold, adopting a pet or working in a setting where lots of allergens are present. Hormonal changes that come with pregnancy and menopause can also bring on allergies, he says. And in the process of aging, the body's immune system might become more sensitized, which can bring on allergies, he says.
Why Do People Get Allergies?
Anyone with an allergy has their origin story, a tale of how they discovered that their immune system goes haywire when some arbitrarily particular molecule gets into their body. There are hundreds of millions of these stories.
5 Environmental Allergies (and how to manage them)
So, without further ado, we bring you five environmental allergies (and how to manage them) with help from Dr. Michael Wein, an allergist-immunologist in Port Saint Lucie, Florida, who is a professor at Florida State University College of Medicine and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area.
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