Allergies
Seasonal allergies affect about 20% of the Canadian population. Symptoms of allergies include sneezing, getting a runny nose, suffering with itchy and watering eyes and generally feeling lousy. Allergy symptoms start when the body develops an immune reaction to something that it would not normally respond to such as pollen or grass - these are called allergens. We do not know why some people are allergic to certain things, but we do know what the body does in response to these allergens.
When allergens enter the body via the nose, mouth, eyes or skin, a series of biological reactions take place leading to, among many other things, the release of histamine from cells that reside in the nasal cavity, eyes and sinuses. Histamine is a small chemical and reacts with other cells in the body to cause some of the symptoms of allergies.
The best treatment for allergies is to avoid exposure to the allergen itself. Allergy testing can be used to confirm what a person is specifically allergic to. Once you find out what you are allergic to, try to avoid it. People who are allergic to pollen should limit their outdoor activity when pollen counts are high and sleep with windows closed. Maintaining the house humidity between 30-50% will decrease the chance of mold, another common allergen, growing in the house, keeping pets away from living spaces can also help. Obviously this is not always practical so some people may need to use medications to control their symptoms.
Oral antihistamines, nasal sprays, eye drops, corticosteroids and immunotherapy are possible medical treatments for allergy symptoms. As one might expect, medications that block the activity of histamine are useful for treating allergies. Anti-histamines come in several formulations and are best taken throughout the ‘allergy season’ to prevent the adverse effects of histamine. Decongestants are useful to help manage a stuffy nose, keeping in mind that taking topical decongestants (i.e. those that you spray into your nose) can actually aggravate a stuffy nose if used for more than several days at a time. Talk to your pharmacist to help you select the medication that will work best for you. A majority of these products are available without a prescription but your pharmacist can assess you to see if you should try one of these products or if you should be referred to your physician for further testing or to try medications that require a prescription.
Your Value Drug Mart pharmacist can provide you with more information on picking out the best treatment based on your specific needs and can provide you with more information about allergies.
