Alester Brown

What is an Allergy?

When allergy season rolls around, millions head to their nearest pharmacy to pick up antihistamines before bracing for months of misery! Fortunately, there are ways to get allergy relief from home and avoid debilitating reactions. But before you explore those routes, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with allergies and understand how they affect you.

An allergy is a phenomenon that occurs when your body reacts negatively to substances that most people don't have issues encountering. Those substances are known as allergens, and they can vary from one person to the next. You might be allergic to pollen, dust mites, mold, certain foods, etc. If you are, you may be atopic. Atopy is a genetic predisposition to developing allergies.

Allergic Reactions 101

So what happens when you encounter an allergen? When those allergens enter your body, your immune system jumps into action. The allergens trigger an antibody response, attaching themselves to mast cells and releasing histamines.

Histamines are chemicals your immune system makes to rid your body of something it views as a threat. In the case of allergies, the allergen is the threat. Your body mistakenly thinks this innocuous substance will cause great harm, so it attacks it.

Upon the release of histamines, you'll experience an allergic response. That could include inflammation, hives, runny nose, sneezing and more.

How Can You Manage Allergic Reactions?

There are many ways to take control of allergies and avoid unwanted reactions.

The easiest thing you can do is use antihistamines. Available at most drug stores, these over-the-counter medications block histamines from coming out of mast cells. They stop the allergic reaction at the source.

Another option is to explore prescription medications. Doctors can prescribe drugs that tackle allergic reactions, relieving your sinuses and skin.

If you want long-term improvements, you can get allergy relief from home with immunotherapy. Immunotherapy involves exposing your system to allergens in slow, controlled doses. The goal is to familiarize your system with those triggers, training it to respond accordingly. With time, immunotherapy can lead to significant improvements, making severe reactions a thing of the past.

Author Resource:-

Alester Brown is a certified immunotherapist. She advises people on personalized home allergy and skin treatment at home. You can find her thoughts at home allergy treatment blog.