Archive for the ‘Allergies And Asthma’ Category
Allergy and Asthma Control
August 5th, 2011 | 
Author: Asthma is a very debilitating disease. I have lived with the affects of asthma for 17 years.
Natural allergy and asthma treatments use supplements readily available at your local health food and vitamin store. For now natural supplements can not be patented, controlled or even owned by any company or person. The reality, today is it costs billions of dollars to develop a drug for market and without airtight patents to protect it, there is no way for drug companies to get a return on such a massive investment.
You really can actually breathe freer and enjoy your active life again. Taking the time to research asthma and put what you learn into practice can make a big difference.
Something to keep in mind, prescription treatments cannot cure. Why, because they do not address the root causes of asthma – they can only address trigger factors and symptoms and ultimately just cover up the symptoms of asthma.
One thing is true when it comes to the health and fitness industry, there is a ton information and mixed messages concerning what you need to eat, how we all should exercise, or what pills and potions to take. The research that I have completed points to a common factor, and in discovering it I have learned one of the greatest secrets of health that has changed lives forever and will hopefully change yours!
A well known saying by Hippocrates cuts it to the chase when he stated.
“Let your food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
Kept in check with good and proper nutrition, the body’s inflammation system works hard to keep itself healthy, strong and disease free. The body uses the nutritional ingredients that we ingest to survive. But when our body is nutrient-deficient, we become plagued by all kinds of health problems. Just look at the state of the population of the USA right now. The simple fact is most health issues involve inflammation that can be relieved with healthy living.
People who pursue natural asthma alternatives are now able to enjoy activities they never thought they could. For many it is a great relief to be able to live life to the fullest, without worrying about when the next debilitating asthma attack will occur!
Another point is to know that stress is one of the things that can trigger asthma attacks? Stress should not be feared it is an aspect of life that needs to be managed.
You’ll find that there are a myriad of causes and symptoms of stress and anxiety.
Stress and anxiety can appear anytime or anywhere and can increase allergy and asthma symptoms. A growing body of research is suggesting that there are many ways to reduce the negative effects of being stressed or suffering from constant anxiety. You can control your stress and anxiety; no matter what it is that is stressing you out!
It is wise to work hard and resist that which would try to bring us down and defeat us! There is no other option in my opinion.
How Is Allergies And Asthma Related
When we hear of allergy and asthma studies, we often find them lumpted together. Is there really a connection between allergies and asthma? To get to the answer to this, we must first learn what allergies and asthma actually are.
Allergies are immune system reactions to things that others would find harmless. Certain foods, pollen, even dust are all considered allergens that can trigger an allergic reaction. The immune system produces antibodies that release chemicals
Asthma is a chronic lung condition, characterized by difficulty in breathing due to extra sensitive or hyper-responsive airways. During an asthma attack, the airways become irritated and react by narrowing and constructing, causing increased resistance to airflow, and obstructing the flow of air to and from the lungs. Common early warning signs of asthma include fatigue, coughing (especially at night), wheezing, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, runny nose, and itchy throat.
Allergies, on the other hand, are immune system reactions to things that most people would experience as harmless. Certain foods, dust, pollen … these are allergens that can trigger an allergy attack. When they’re encountered, the body’s immune system produces IgE antibodies to fight the allergen. These antibodies create the release of chemicals into the bloodstream, one of which (histamine) affects the eyes, nose, throat, lungs, and skin, causing the allergy’s symptoms.
So now that we have a better picture of how these two health conditions work, the question becomes … is there a relationship between allergies and asthma?
It’s true that those with certain allergies (usually allergies that affect the nose and eyes, such as dust mites, animal dander, mold or pollen) are more likely to develop asthma than say … those without allergies or those with allergies in other classifications, such as food allergies. But it’s also true that many of those with allergies never develop asthma at all.
In addition, there are other factors that can contribute to a person’s asthma. Unmonitored exercise, for example. Or other illnesses, such as colds or the flu.
Scientists aren’t sure what lies at the root cause of asthma. Various studies are looking at a variety of factors, including air pollution, obesity, and as strange as it might sound, even the lack of exposure to viruses and bacteria in childhood (which may prevent the immune system from growing stronger).
What we do know is that exposure to indoor allergens, pollen, animal dander, grass … in other words, allergy-related factors, are often found in asthmatics. Often, but not always. And it also appears that asthma tends to run in families. If both parents have asthma, there’s actually a 40% probability their children will develop the disease as well.
Current research efforts have been exploring the influence of environmental factors, genetics (as mentioned above), and even stress on asthma. This creates the potential to dramatically reduce a person’s asthma severity levels by altering his or her exposure to the aggravating factors. This can be particularly successful when the culprit is something that’s relatively easy to control. Dust, for instance. Or something only encountered in a work environment. Or, though it’s certainly much more difficult because of the emotional component, a family pet.
Unfortunately, the most common allergy that appears to have a direct influence on asthma is an allergy to dust mites. Eliminating these mites to the extent that it might make a difference in the severity of your asthma requires a major change in lifestyle and can often be quite expensive. That doesn’t mean it can’t be done, only that it’s not as easy as simply staying indoors during the pollen season or switching to a less stressful job.
Of course, new treatments are coming along all the time, and considerable research is currently dedicated to finding ways to modify, abolish or diminish the affect allergies have on the body. It’s believed that with the successful control of allergies can come the successful control of asthma, particularly in younger sufferers.
In the meantime, here’s what we know … asthma can be triggered by allergic reactions, but it can also be triggered by nonallergic reactions. Most asthma attacks result from exposure to allergens such as pollen, household dust, and mold. These attacks can be influenced by indoor or outdoor environments. Because a majority of asthma sufferers are affected by some form of allergies, it’s worth the effor to work closely with your doctor to try to identify and control all potential allergens within your influence.
Understanding Allergy Induced Asthma
Asthma is a condition of the respiratory system whereby the airways become swollen and narrow. This makes it hard for asthma sufferers to breathe, and can even become life threatening if proper treatment methods aren’t determined rapidly. The most common type of respiratory condition is allergy induced asthma, which is typically triggered by an allergen in the air or food. It is also common for people to experience exercise induced asthma, especially if they’re not use to strenuous physical exercise. If you think that you might be suffering from asthma, get the facts about treatment today.
What Is Allergy Induced Asthma?
Many people are familiar with allergies that make their nose run or their eyes water. Some people even have allergies to certain types of food or insect bites that might make them sick or swell up with hives. No matter what causes your allergic reaction, one of the worst conditions is allergy induced asthma because it can actually cause your airways to swell up, restricting the flow of air and making you panic. During an outbreak of allergy induced asthma, the body produced histamines that cause inflammation and irritation while they are working to get rid of the allergen. When allergy induced asthma occurs, it’s because the histamines were released into the bronchial tubes and lungs, interrupting the breathing process with inflammation.
What Are Symptoms Of Allergy Induced Asthma?
Although asthma and allergies are becoming increasingly common among younger children, it can be hard to diagnose allergy induced asthma when the patient is small and doesn’t really understand what’s going on. That’s why it’s important for parents and guardians to pay attention and report to the doctor immediately if they notice:
- Trouble breathing
- Unexplained coughing or wheezing
- Trouble sleeping because of difficulty breathing
- Tightness, pain, or sensitivity in the chest area
These can also be the signs of allergy induced asthma in adults, and should be cause to have an asthma test done at the doctor’s office during your next visit. If the symptoms are so severe that you think it might be fatal, it’s important to call an ambulance to seen emergency treatment right away. Try to remember what triggered the asthma attack, especially if you think it might be allergy induced asthma or exercise induced asthma.
Dealing with Exercise Induced Asthma
We all have physical activities that we engage in as part of work or play, and it can be disheartening to realize that these are the very activities triggering a bout of exercise induced asthma. Asthma exercise induced treatment usually includes simply refraining from the type of exercise that triggers the attack, but in some cases there can also be medications to suppress symptoms while exercising.
Using Probiotics to Treat Allergy Induced Asthma
Many people assume that being diagnosed with exercise induced asthma or allergy induced asthma means that they will have to spend the rest of their life taking powerful prescription drugs or using an inhaler, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Probiotics in general have been known to increase the immune system and improving the symptoms caused by exercise induced asthma and allergy induced asthma.
Allergy and Asthma Attacks
Allergy and asthma are often related to one another. A common misconception about allergy is that it only manifests on the skin with rashes and itchiness. What many of us do not know, that beside the usual lip bulging, is that asthma can also be an allergic reaction.
There are many cases where an allergic reaction is manifested through asthma. The pathophysiological process on asthma caused by allergens is different from a real asthma attack. Once an individual has been exposed to an allergen, he or she may experience difficulty of breathing, rapid and struggling respiration. Hyperventilation is caused by narrowing of the airways, particularly on the wind pipe,or the relaxation of the diaphragm muscle that is essential for respiration.
For example, if a patient has some certain allergy to dust particles and become expose to it, the next thing to expect is an asthma attack. Now in this case, the allergen component is the cause and the asthma attack is the reaction. However, the real physiological anomaly is the asthma itself and not the allergy. The allergy would just be the mere trigger for asthma but on the other hand, the asthma can also be caused by a lot of other factors beside that certain allergen. This is commonly called as the allergen- induced asthma.
Many asthmatics and allergic patients are highly sensitive to micro particles that can be accidentally inhaled and invade the airway. Pollens, fumes, strong fragrance and dust particles are the usual culprits on many cases. Every time a particle invades the body, our immune system become hyper reactive thereby triggering the allergic reaction mechanism (most of the time in a form of a mere sneeze) toward of the foreign body.
Asthma attacks that can also be caused by allergic reactions narrow the bronchioles essential for oxygen like any other asthma. It therefore decreases the patient’s oxygen capacity leading him/her to feel like drowning. Fatal cases lead to status asthmaticus where an asthma attack doesn’t react on medications and treatment and were left unsupplied by oxygen. This is an important concept to understand why allergy and asthma are correlated.
How to Save Money on Your Allergy and Asthma Medications
Treating your allergies or asthma properly can be expensive. Statistics from the American Academy of Allergy have estimated the cost of treating allergic rhinitis (seasonal allergies or hayfever) and asthma is on the order of many billions of dollars per year in the U.S. The costs that patients face are both direct (medications, doctor visits, hospital stays etc…) and indirect (missed work or school, decreased productivity on the job etc…). Both add up rapidly to become a big part of health care costs for patients and insurance companies. As a practicing allergist, I have put together some suggestions for patients who are interested in saving money on their prescription medications. Working with your doctor is the best way to find ways to control spiraling prescription medication costs.
5 Ways to Save on Allergy and Asthma Medications
1. Take the medications as directed by your doctor. This may seem obvious, but it is probably the best long term way to save money. Many medications such as nasal steroid sprays (Flonase, Nasonex, Veramyst, Rhinocort AQ, Nasacort AQ) and inhaled steroids (Flovent, Asmanex, Qvar, Azmacort, Advair, Symbicort) and Leukotriene blockers (Singulair or Accolate) work best as “Controller Medications”. Controller means that taking the medicine daily prevents symptoms and illness. If you can prevent allergy symptoms, or a flare of asthma, you save health care dollars and money out of your pocket by not needing additional medications such as antibiotics, or incurring co-pays for sick visits. You and your kids will also miss less work and school, which makes you more productive in the long run.
2. Check with your insurance plan to see if ordering medication in bulk will be cheaper. Many insurance plans come with pharmacy benefits that offer discounts if you order ninety day supplies of medications. Since many allergy and asthma medications need to be taken on a preventative basis (“controller”), having several months supply of medication on hand makes sense, may allow for discounts, and will save you several trips to the pharmacy.
3. Research which medications are covered best by your insurance plan. Physicians have a difficult time keeping up with which medications are covered best by your insurance plan. Do your homework to see if your insurance plan has a list of medications, or formulary, which outlines which medications they cover at lower, or generic, co-pays and discuss this with your physician during a visit. Often times, physicians are happy to switch a patient to a medication that is covered well by their plan as long as it is safe and provides equal benefits.
4. Don’t just ask for samples. Ask your doctor if his office has any coupons for you medications. There is a trend now for pharmaceutical companies to provide fewer samples and more coupons or discount cards for their medications. Often these coupons will lower or totally eliminate the entire co-pay. Many coupon offers provide you a month’s free supply of medications and enroll you in future discount programs.
5. Research on the internet discount offers for medications.