5 common reasons why your allergies do not seem to go away

Allergies are a miserable problem for many people. The condition is a result of the body’s oversensitivity to certain substances. It could be dust, pollen, pet dander, or even certain foods. Whatever the case, the body’s immune system mistakenly identifies it as a threat to the body and initiates an overreaction that leads to the symptoms we all know so well. For minor reactions, it could be sneezing, itchy eyes, or a runny nose. Certain allergic reactions to food and insect stings can actually be fatal.

For the average person dealing with the misery of spring’s annual assault or the general year-round afflictions of allergies inside the home, treatment is often pursued. We may take pills or even shots to suppress our bodies’ immune response to the allergen, and for many people, this does the trick.

In other cases, it seems that nothing helps. If that is your situation, look at some of these reasons why treatment isn’t making a difference.

Misdiagnosis

Many people develop allergy symptoms, go buy an over-the-counter medication, and expect effective results. While that is certainly effective for the most common conditions, it won’t work for everybody. There are as many combinations of allergies present in people as there are people, so it’s not always possible to use a one-size-fits-all approach. Something more tailored and personalized will yield much better results.

The ideal course of treatment is to see a doctor when OTC products don’t work. Your practitioner may recommend allergy testing to pinpoint your exact problem and then develop a treatment plan based on this more detailed knowledge. Without this effort at a definitive identification of your exact problem, your prospects for success are marginal at best.

Inconsistent Treatment

Most allergy drugs must be taken every day. A missed dose creates an opportunity for the reaction to gather its strength and attack again. At that point, your preventive medication is no longer effective and you need to switch to a treatment medication.

Other problems result when we fail to take the same medication each time. If something works, stick with it! A change could cause a setback that leaves you sniffing and sneezing all over again.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you don’t need your medicine just because you are symptom-free today. That only means that the medicine is working–which makes it more important that you continue taking it, not less important. Take your medication no matter the weather and no matter your symptoms.

Inadequate Cleanup

Preventing allergies is often done effectively by eliminating the allergens from the environment. This includes cleaning ductwork and getting Brisbane Carpestology to do a deep cleaning on your carpets. These steps are especially important for pet allergies and dust, but pollen is just as big a problem.

Don’t just clean the house, though. Clean yourself. A few minutes outdoors before bed can dust your body with pollen that is then transferred to the sheets and pillowcases, leaving them there to irritate you every night until you wash the bedding. Change clothes and wash exposed skin after going outside. That also goes for even a little contact with your loyal pet or the places where he or she sleeps, eats, or lounges. Wash your hands thoroughly, and if old Spot has cuddled you, change clothes and wash your face, too.

Overloading Your Defenses

Most treatments do a good job of controlling allergies when they are properly targeted, but we can only ask so much of them. Do yourself a favor and avoid peak allergen times. Go outside when the weather is calm, and monitor websites for information on atmospheric levels of your most problematic pollens.

Don’t mow grass before a rain. Instead, wait on the precipitation to come through and settle the pollen. Wear an allergen mask to minimize the amount of pollen that gets into your body. Consider removing landscape plants that are notorious pollen producers, and control the most common problem weeds.

Asking for Trouble

It’s impossible to avoid all allergens, but it’s certainly not necessary to put yourself in a position where you can’t avoid them at all. Some allergy sufferers get into problems by doing things they know they shouldn’t do. In these cases, the reaction is almost sure to take place, and then the battle to regain your comfort will begin.

For some people, outdoor work is out of the question. They simply cannot be exposed to such high levels of pollen. For others, an indoor pet is just not practical; still others may not be able to handle even an outdoor pet. Humid climates where mold grows vigorously might not be the best place to live if allergies are a serious problem.

House cleaning may also lead to trouble, because it stirs up all kinds of dust that can kick-start an allergic reaction. Cleaning more frequently can reduce the amount of dust that is present as you clean, reducing your exposure to a more manageable level.

Think about the big picture of your lifestyle and how it aligns with your allergy problems, then figure out what you can do to change both of them in a way that simplifies your management of your allergy problem. The key word here is management of your allergies.

Nothing takes the enjoyment out of a nice day outside quite like an allergy attack. It sends you scrambling for the tissue box or a glass of water, hoping to stave off your own body’s irrational behavior.

Allergy sufferers have a lot of options to choose from, and the best results come to those who properly identify the problem and then follow that with consistent treatment of the whole situation–the environment, the body, and the behavior. When there is a breakdown in this orderly approach to managing allergies, symptoms can become worse.

It’s critical, then to take an aggressive approach to managing all the aspects of an allergy problem so that you know you’re doing everything you can to keep your body from ruining its own fun.