Breathing and Allergies

There are two reasons that bee pollen would not be expected to help with allergies:The type of pollen that bees carry is not the kind of pollen that causes allergy. It's the wind-transported pollen that causes ... continue reading  about  Does bee pollen help reduce allergies?

Usually when someone has a “seasonal” allergy, it means springtime symptoms caused by pollen. Although pollen allergy certainly can cause nasal, eye or asthma symptoms, it rarely would cause a rash ... continue reading  about  I have a seasonal reoccurring rash. Can this be related to allergies?

Dust mite allergy is diagnosed by obtaining a positive history (yours sounds suspicious) and having a positive allergy test (skin or blood) to dust mite. Pollen (plant) allergy would have similar symptoms but w... continue reading  about  How would I know if I have a dust mite allergy? Sometimes when I'm cleaning the house my eyes start to itch, I sneeze, and my asthma kicks in. How would this type of allergic reaction differ from a plant allergy? Is there anything I can do about it?

Acute hives are actually fairly common, but finding the cause can be challenging. Hives occur when the immune system is stimulated into releasing histamine from inside the blood stream, resulting in the dilatio... continue reading  about  My wife just developed hives for the first time in her life -- on her face, arms and chest. What is known about hives, and what can she do to eliminate the symptoms?

Mild intermittent asthma is defined as:One bronchodilator (Proventil) usage no more than twice a week ANDWaking up at night with asthma no more than twice a month ANDExacerbation of asthma resulting in an unsch... continue reading  about  My asthma is intermittent and mild. Is the Proventil inhaler the best treatment? Are there any side effects? Is there a more natural method to manage asthma? And are there effective dust and other airborne allergen removers?

Yes, it is ok to take the medication for an extended period of time. However, the "D" formulation has a decongestant (which is what the 'D' represents in the name) and this can raise your blood pressure. I woul... continue reading  about  I have seasonal allergies. I previously went through allergy injections but I didn't feel like they were making much of a difference after several years of treatment. Is it okay to take something like Claritin D 12 hr for an extended period of time?

When we're talking about reactions to food, most people think any reaction must be allergic in origin. Not true. There are many reasons why one may have an adverse reaction to a food. A few examples: coffee may... continue reading  about  How can I know if I have a lagging reaction to a specific food?

I have always recommended using distilled, bottled, or filtered water for nasal rinses. An alternative could be boiling tap water for at least five minutes. Municipal tap water should also be safer than well wa... continue reading  about  I was alarmed by an article about deaths related to using tap water in a neti pot. I have been using only tap water. Should I change to filtered, bottled or distilled water?

The significance of a food allergy test cannot be interpreted out of context. For example, if you had a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction to peanuts but the food allergy test was negative, it would not nec... continue reading  about  I had a food allergy test about five years ago. All the tests came back negative. How long are the tests reliable? Can I still get a new food allergy in the future?