Tuesday May 15, 2012
Coughing is one of the most common reasons why people visit their doctors. When symptoms last for more than a few weeks, the cough would be diagnosed as being chronic. The most common causes of chronic cough include post nasal drip, asthma and acid reflux. Post nasal drip, caused by allergic rhinitis, and asthma certainly could be caused by allergies, which could be worse seasonally.
Have you noticed that your cough seems to be worse along with your seasonal allergies? It is certainly possible for a cough to be worse seasonly, which may mean that the cough is due to asthma or post nasal drip caused by seasonal allergic rhinitis. Allergy testing may reveal positive testing for tree or grass pollens, and pulmonary function testing may reveal signs of asthma. A therapeutic trial of medications for allergic rhinitis or asthma may be helpful at differentiating the cause of cough.
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Tuesday May 8, 2012
Spring hay fever season finds people desperate to find relief from their nasal allergy symptoms. Natural therapies, without the use of medicines, are becoming more popular, especially among allergy sufferers. It is a popular notion that eating honey is a natural remedy for symptoms of allergies and asthma. Honey contains various ingredients, including pollen allergens and components of honeybees. Locally produced honey would be expected to contain local plant pollens to which a person would be allergic, and therefore is the preferred type of honey for allergies. It makes sense that consuming pollen-containing honey would improve allergies, much like how sublingual immunotherapy works. And, the fact that many people have experienced anaphylaxis from eating honey means that there may be enough pollen to stimulate the immune system. Read more to find out if eating local honey is a good idea for treating your hay fever symptoms.
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Sunday May 6, 2012
The April rains have stopped, the weather is warming up, and the flowers are beginning to bloom. But along with this beauty that you CAN see comes the misery you CAN'T see -- grass allergy season. May is grass allergy season in much of the country, which causes many allergy sufferers to be absolutely miserable. Whether a person is mowing the lawn, golfing, or just spending some quality time outdoors, airborne grass pollen can wreak havoc on a person's allergy symptoms. Grass pollen causes a wide array of allergy symptoms, the most common of which is hay fever. Other symptoms caused by grass allergy include contact urticaria as a result of direct exposure to grass, as well as a form of food allergy secondary to proteins in grass pollen being closely related to those in fresh tomatoes.
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Saturday April 28, 2012
Have you been in the cold and allergy section of your local drug store recently? The choices of different products -- and there are literally hundreds of them -- can be very confusing. After all, the name of the product doesn't always give you the best idea of what the medicine actually contains. Unless you're a physician, nurse or pharmacist, you'd probably not really know what you're getting just be looking at the active ingredients.
It also always surprises me to see what my patients choose from over-the-counter (OTC) products to treat their allergy symptoms. Many people will pick a product containing SudafedŽ even though nasal congestion isn't one of their major symptoms. Or, they purchase an antihistamine even though their allergy symptoms don't include itching or sneezing.
Do you have trouble choosing an OTC cold or allergy medicine? Who do you go to for advice -- your doctor, pharmacist, healthcare professional friend or maybe even your mother? Are you more likely to purchase a product because you've seen an advertisement or because a certain item is on sale? Do you stick with a certain brand name, such as RobitussinŽ, or do you buy the generic version because it's cheaper? Share your answers to these questions and more on this quick survey.
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