Coping With Allergies

It seems in recent years that more and more people suffer allergies. These allergies can be to medicine, foods, or environmental. Dealing with the effects of the body’s intolerance to some substances can be very difficult. There are several measures that a person can take to make coping with sensitivities easier.

The first thing that a person should do when they feel like they have intolerance to some substance is to see an allergist. An allergist can perform test to identify what the specific sensitivities a person has and the severity of the sensitivities. Some allergies can be life threatening and the allergist will carefully instruct the individual on life saving measures to be taken. Reactions to insect stings, medications and peanuts are commonly found to be very severe and will need to be taken very seriously.

Once the allergist has identified the areas of hypersensitivity there are many things that can be done to assist a person in coping with allergies. The doctor may want the patient to begin a course of allergy injections. These injections will work in the body to reduce the reactions that the patient has. Injections can be given for hypersensitivities to animals, plants and environmental irritants can be given.

Other Coping Measures

There are several other measures that can be taken to cope with allergies. If a person is intolerant to airborne irritants, an air filtration system in the home may be very helpful. These systems can be very inexpensive to purchase and may provide great relief if used as instructed. There are many small units which can be place in the room where the sufferer spends the majority of their time. There are even small desk top units which can be place in a work environment.

For people who find that they are allergic to their pets the best thing is to find new home for the pet. This may be hard for a family or person to even consider. If the allergy is not too severe, keeping the home well vacuumed and dusted and keeping the pest bathed and brushed will help significantly.

There are some medications which can help with allergies. Antihistamines can be purchased over the counter and taken daily to help relieve the sensitivities. Some of these antihistamines were obtained by prescription only in the past few years but have now been approved by the FDA for consumer purchase. If over the counter medications do not seem to relieve the symptoms there are stronger medications available with a physician prescription.