All about Allergies
You’re sneezing, your throat is scratchy, and your eyes itch. Or you have this strange rash on your arms that just won’t go away. Or raised red wheals have appeared on your chest and back. Or every time you eat shrimp, your lips and mouth swell, and you begin wheezing.
According to Unani system of medicine, all of these are symptoms of allergies. In fact, as you’ll learn throughout this book, there are numerous forms and types of allergies nearly as many as there are allergy triggers and less common types, such as food, insect, medication, and skin allergies.
Allergic rhinitis usually shows up before age 20, but it can develop at any age. In fact, it may be diagnosed as early as the first year of life. Today, allergic rhinitis affects 40 percent of children and 20 to 30 percent of adults.
In years past, hay fever was viewed as nothing more than an annoyance, not really worth treating seriously and certainly not capable of inflicting the kind of economic and physical toll that we now know it does. Indeed, today we know that allergic rhinitis is associated with several other respiratory illnesses, including asthma, and that it can significantly affect your ability to work or study. In fact, studies find that people with allergic rhinitis miss 3.8 million days of work and school each year. Children miss more than 2 million days of school, and more than one-third of adults with hay fever say it decreases their work effectiveness. Overall, this allergy costs the United States about $2 billion in direct costs, with indirect costs estimated to be much higher.
Unfortunately, even those who have allergies, underestimate the consequences. A national survey conducted by the centre. Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology in 2002 found that while 94 percent of allergy sufferers reported that allergies affected their quality of life including work productivity, sleep, concentration, and even sex just 50 percent considered the disease to be a serious medical condition. Nearly two thirds, or 64 percent, hadn’t seen an allergist or other doctor the last time their symptoms flared up.
The Allergy ripple effect
The primary symptom of allergic rhinitis is a stuffed and/or runny nose. When your nose behaves like this, doctors say it’s chronically inflamed. This constant inflammation provides the perfect breeding ground for viruses and bacteria, which can lead to numerous other problems, such as ear infections, sinus infections (sinusitis), and asthma. In fact, if you are prone to sinus infections, ask your doctor to check you for allergies.
Sinusitis affects about 31 million Americans a year. It’s defined as an inflammation of the lining of the nasal sinuses, the hollow cavities within the cheekbones around your eyes and behind your nose. It can make an allergy attack feel like the sniffles. If you have sinusitis, chances are you also have a pounding headache, pressure behind your eyes and cheeks, toothache, green or gray nasal drainage, and postnasal drip. You may also lose your sense of smell and taste and have bad breath, along with chronic congestion.
About half of all people with sinusitis have allergies, and the theory is that the allergies lead to the sinus infections. It works like this. Normally, mucus and liquids drain from the sinuses through tiny openings about the size of a tip of a pen. Swelling due to an allergy can block that drainage, resulting in a buildup of mucus and providing a lovely spot for bacteria or viruses to thrive.
If allergies aren’t treated, they can also lead to nasal polyps (pale, round outgrowths of the nasal lining) or swollen nasal turbinates (protruding tissues that line the inside of your nose). Sometimes surgery is required to correct these problems. Untreated allergies can also cause dental and facial abnormalities, as described later, and can affect speech development in children.
In addition to the most common symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis sneezing, runny nose, and watery eyes it often disturbs sleep, so people spend their days in a fog of fatigue. Consequently, their ability to think, study, and process information is affected. They may also have difficulty remembering things, impaired hand-eye coordination, and decreased capacity to make decissions. Some of these symptoms may be caused by over the counter allergy remedies and others by a lack of sleep.
If congestion block your ear canals, it can interfere with hearing and affect learning and comprehension. Meanwhile, constantly blowing your nose and coughing can interrupt your concentration and ability to learn. But if you feel like you’re moving in slow motion and your brain has turned to cotton candy, don’t worry.
Allergies can also affect appearance. For instance, the dark under-eye circles called allergic shiners can make allergy sufferers look as if they’ve been pulling a string of all nighters, although they’re actually caused by swollen blood vessels under the eyes. Because many people with allergies breathe through their mouths, they’re more likely to develop a high, arched palate (the roof of the mouth), an elevated upper lip, and an overbite, which may require orthodontic work. Then there’s the nasal crease, a line across the lower part of the nose that forms from constantly rubbing it (known as the allergic salute). Finally, allergy sufferers may look as if they’re constantly tired, in part, because of swollen adenoids, the lymph tissue that lines the back of the throat and extends behind your nose.
Other common symptoms are chronic coughing; wheezing or shortness of breath; conjunctivitis, or pinkeye (red, swollen eyes); sore throat; frequent nosebleeds; post nasal drip; bad breath; canker sores; an itchy palate; stomach problems, such as bloating, belching, and heartburn; and irritability and depression.
Allergy sufferers ask What is a Sneeze?
It’s as much a part of allergies as a stuffy nose, but what, exactly, is a sneeze? Well, it’s an involuntary violent expulsion of air through your nose and mouth involving many upper-body muscles. The sneeze sequence is probably hardwired in your brain and spinal cord, which is one reason it’s so difficult to suppress a sneeze once the irritation message is sent to the brain.
The sneeze occurs when the nervous system in your nose (which you probably didn’t even know you had) is stimulated, causing a sudden contraction of dozens of muscles in your face, chest, and abdomen. This contractions forces air out of your nose extremely fast, with the goal of getting rid of the irritation. How fast? One estimate says a sneeze emerges about as fast as the best professional baseball pitcher can throw a fastball, i.e., about 100 mph. But sneezing comes in handy if you have a stuffed nose. The acceleration of air through the nose causes a drop in pressure, and this sinuses, having the same effect as when you blow your nose.
And yes, sometimes looking at a light can bring that just-on-the-edge sneeze to the forefront of the achoo-a-meter. Another bit of sneezine trivia. None other than Thomas Edison studied the sneeze, and in 1897, he created one of the first “action” movies of the time by filming a series of still shots of a sneeze is sequence, then replaying them rapidly one after another.
You’re sneezing, your throat is scratchy, and your eyes itch. Or you have this strange rash on your arms that just won’t go away. Or raised red wheals have appeared on your chest and back. Or every time you eat shrimp, your lips and mouth swell, and you begin wheezing.
According to Unani system of medicine, all of these are symptoms of allergies. In fact, as you’ll learn throughout this book, there are numerous forms and types of allergies nearly as many as there are allergy triggers and less common types, such as food, insect, medication, and skin allergies.
Allergic rhinitis usually shows up before age 20, but it can develop at any age. In fact, it may be diagnosed as early as the first year of life. Today, allergic rhinitis affects 40 percent of children and 20 to 30 percent of adults.
In years past, hay fever was viewed as nothing more than an annoyance, not really worth treating seriously and certainly not capable of inflicting the kind of economic and physical toll that we now know it does. Indeed, today we know that allergic rhinitis is associated with several other respiratory illnesses, including asthma, and that it can significantly affect your ability to work or study. In fact, studies find that people with allergic rhinitis miss 3.8 million days of work and school each year. Children miss more than 2 million days of school, and more than one-third of adults with hay fever say it decreases their work effectiveness. Overall, this allergy costs the United States about $2 billion in direct costs, with indirect costs estimated to be much higher.
Unfortunately, even those who have allergies, underestimate the consequences. A national survey conducted by the centre. Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology in 2002 found that while 94 percent of allergy sufferers reported that allergies affected their quality of life including work productivity, sleep, concentration, and even sex just 50 percent considered the disease to be a serious medical condition. Nearly two thirds, or 64 percent, hadn’t seen an allergist or other doctor the last time their symptoms flared up.
The Allergy ripple effect
The primary symptom of allergic rhinitis is a stuffed and/or runny nose. When your nose behaves like this, doctors say it’s chronically inflamed. This constant inflammation provides the perfect breeding ground for viruses and bacteria, which can lead to numerous other problems, such as ear infections, sinus infections (sinusitis), and asthma. In fact, if you are prone to sinus infections, ask your doctor to check you for allergies.
Sinusitis affects about 31 million Americans a year. It’s defined as an inflammation of the lining of the nasal sinuses, the hollow cavities within the cheekbones around your eyes and behind your nose. It can make an allergy attack feel like the sniffles. If you have sinusitis, chances are you also have a pounding headache, pressure behind your eyes and cheeks, toothache, green or gray nasal drainage, and postnasal drip. You may also lose your sense of smell and taste and have bad breath, along with chronic congestion.
About half of all people with sinusitis have allergies, and the theory is that the allergies lead to the sinus infections. It works like this. Normally, mucus and liquids drain from the sinuses through tiny openings about the size of a tip of a pen. Swelling due to an allergy can block that drainage, resulting in a buildup of mucus and providing a lovely spot for bacteria or viruses to thrive.
If allergies aren’t treated, they can also lead to nasal polyps (pale, round outgrowths of the nasal lining) or swollen nasal turbinates (protruding tissues that line the inside of your nose). Sometimes surgery is required to correct these problems. Untreated allergies can also cause dental and facial abnormalities, as described later, and can affect speech development in children.
In addition to the most common symptoms associated with allergic rhinitis sneezing, runny nose, and watery eyes it often disturbs sleep, so people spend their days in a fog of fatigue. Consequently, their ability to think, study, and process information is affected. They may also have difficulty remembering things, impaired hand-eye coordination, and decreased capacity to make decissions. Some of these symptoms may be caused by over the counter allergy remedies and others by a lack of sleep.
If congestion block your ear canals, it can interfere with hearing and affect learning and comprehension. Meanwhile, constantly blowing your nose and coughing can interrupt your concentration and ability to learn. But if you feel like you’re moving in slow motion and your brain has turned to cotton candy, don’t worry.
Allergies can also affect appearance. For instance, the dark under-eye circles called allergic shiners can make allergy sufferers look as if they’ve been pulling a string of all nighters, although they’re actually caused by swollen blood vessels under the eyes. Because many people with allergies breathe through their mouths, they’re more likely to develop a high, arched palate (the roof of the mouth), an elevated upper lip, and an overbite, which may require orthodontic work. Then there’s the nasal crease, a line across the lower part of the nose that forms from constantly rubbing it (known as the allergic salute). Finally, allergy sufferers may look as if they’re constantly tired, in part, because of swollen adenoids, the lymph tissue that lines the back of the throat and extends behind your nose.
Other common symptoms are chronic coughing; wheezing or shortness of breath; conjunctivitis, or pinkeye (red, swollen eyes); sore throat; frequent nosebleeds; post nasal drip; bad breath; canker sores; an itchy palate; stomach problems, such as bloating, belching, and heartburn; and irritability and depression.
Allergy sufferers ask What is a Sneeze?
It’s as much a part of allergies as a stuffy nose, but what, exactly, is a sneeze? Well, it’s an involuntary violent expulsion of air through your nose and mouth involving many upper-body muscles. The sneeze sequence is probably hardwired in your brain and spinal cord, which is one reason it’s so difficult to suppress a sneeze once the irritation message is sent to the brain.
The sneeze occurs when the nervous system in your nose (which you probably didn’t even know you had) is stimulated, causing a sudden contraction of dozens of muscles in your face, chest, and abdomen. This contractions forces air out of your nose extremely fast, with the goal of getting rid of the irritation. How fast? One estimate says a sneeze emerges about as fast as the best professional baseball pitcher can throw a fastball, i.e., about 100 mph. But sneezing comes in handy if you have a stuffed nose. The acceleration of air through the nose causes a drop in pressure, and this sinuses, having the same effect as when you blow your nose.
And yes, sometimes looking at a light can bring that just-on-the-edge sneeze to the forefront of the achoo-a-meter. Another bit of sneezine trivia. None other than Thomas Edison studied the sneeze, and in 1897, he created one of the first “action” movies of the time by filming a series of still shots of a sneeze is sequence, then replaying them rapidly one after another.