A Guide to Allergy Elimination

Allergies affect over 50 million people in the United States. Allergies and asthma account for over 10 million doctor's office visits per year. So you see, if you suffer from allergies, you are not alone.

Allergy is caused by a defect in the immune system. It is chronic, which means it cannot be cured. It can be managed and thus the allergic reaction eliminated or at least reduced. I guess you can think of an allergic reaction as a sort of a fight.

The allergic reaction is caused when the body does not properly identify a harmless protein. Your immune system is responsible for defending the body against bacteria and viruses.

In some cases, your immune system will defend against substances that typically don't pose a threat to the human body. These substances are known as allergens, and when your body reacts to them, it causes an allergic reaction.

The most commonly misidentified environmental proteins are from dust mites and their feces, cockroaches, pollens, and household pets. The most common food proteins are from eggs, milk, tree nuts, peanuts, and shellfish. In the allergic person, this misidentification results in the overabundance of the human immunoglobulin E.

This IgE antibody binds to two types of cells, basophils and mast cells, which are plentiful in the lungs, skin, tongue, and linings of the nose and intestinal tract. These cells then release histamines.

It is the histamine that causes the hives, itchy and watery eyes, eczema, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, runny nose, stuffy nose, asthma and other allergic symptoms.

This interaction between the proteins and the immune system was not well understood until 1967 when a husband and wife team discovered IgE.

So, if you are going to eliminate the allergic reaction, you must eliminate your exposure to the allergy. With a food allergy, labels must be carefully examined. Look carefully to see if the food to which you are allergic is listed. Also, many food processing plants handle many different types of foods.

It is possible that your canned peaches were processed in a plant that also handles peanuts or pecans. Most labels now indicate if the most common allergy-causing foods are processed in their plant. If you see this on the label, select another brand.

While your saltine cracker shouldn’t have any peanuts in it, if peanuts were being processed close by, there might be small particles that floated through the air and became part of your cracker.

Allergy elimination in the home requires quite a bit of effort upfront, but once you have the proper environment established it is very easy to maintain. One of the biggest issues we all have that can cause your allergies to flare up is household dust.

If you have allergies to pets, cats allergies are the most common, try to keep them outside. If they come inside, keep them off the furniture and out of the bedroom.

Fiber-rich surfaces such as carpets, upholstered furniture, curtains, and rugs should be sprayed on a regular basis with a denaturing agent such as the ADS or ADMS Spray made by the Alkaline Laboratories.

These agents render the allergy-causing protein harmless. In addition, you can apply a denaturing agent directly to the animal. The Allerpet Company makes a solution just for cats and dogs.

You can also be allergic to your cell phone. Many people are allergic to nickel and cell phones use it. The nickel in the phone may be what is causing flareups of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) on your hands, face, neck or other areas of the body. They are the parts that are commonly exposed to cell phones.

Try using it less or use hands-free technology.

Elimination for the dust mite allergy requires a bit more work. Because the bedroom is so fiber-rich, it usually has the largest amount of dust and dust mite concentration in the house. The bedroom, 11 Proven Tips to Remove Dust Mite Allergens in Bedroom, should be the first room to get your attention when on your quest for allergy elimination in your home.

All carpeting should be removed from the bedroom. If this is not possible, the carpets should be treated with the ADS or ADMS Sprays.

You cannot eliminate the dust mite from the mattress or pillow, so they must be encased in special mattress covers that will trap the allergens in and keep you from being exposed while you sleep.

These covers are made from special fabrics and are available from special mail-order companies or can be ordered on-line from such companies as AllergyStore.com.

Curtains should be removed and hard surface blinds hung in their place. The blinds, as well as the other contents of the room, should be dusted weekly. It is preferable to use a damp cloth or microfiber duster treated with AllerDust spray when dusting. This will keep the dust particles from becoming airborne as you clean.

The number of books, knick-knacks, and other items sitting out should be kept to a minimum. This reduces the number of surfaces on which dust can settle and makes it easy to clean the room once a week.

The bed should be stripped every 7 days and the sheets, blankets, and pillowcases washed in 140°F water. If you are unable to achieve water this hot at home, you can either take your bedding to a commercial establishment or you can launder at home with either the De-Mite laundry additive or the Allersearch Allergen Wash. Either of these will eliminate the dust mite allergens in much cooler wash temperatures.

Wishing you the best of health,

The Allergy Store

Allergy elimination is about eliminating the allergy-causing substance in your home the best you can. Once you do this, you may be able to eliminate the need for all the medications and doctor visits. For additional information please click here to download your free copy of" You Can Do It! Allergy Free Living.

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