A Healthy Life Blog

Asthma is a chronic condition that causes your airways to constrict, making it difficult to breathe. Asthma is a very serious and common disease, one that affects millions of people around the world. And the number of sufferers climbs continually.

There’s no cure for asthma, but many individuals with the condition can find relief for their symptoms. It can be controlled to a point where they are able to live quite normally and not suffer from constant asthma attacks.

Treatment

Your best approach is to prevent an asthma attack from occurring in the first place. Find out the specific triggers for your symptoms and stay away from them. However, there will still be times when an asthma attack is unavoidable. This means that learning to manage your asthma symptoms is vital.

Keep in mind that when it comes to asthma, not all attacks are the same. Your symptoms might be worse during some episodes than others. During a severe attack the airways can become so constricted that they prevent your vital organs from receiving the oxygen they need. This is classified as a medical emergency. A severe asthma attack can even result in death. If you are among the huge number of individuals who experience asthma, it’s critical that you realize the seriousness of this condition.

Pharmaceuticals

Typically, the most effective way to manage an asthma attack is with medication. It enables those who suffer from asthma to manage their condition and stave off an attack that could become more serious. Asthma medications can be taken orally or inhaled in vapor form using a metered dose inhaler.

There are actually two different kinds of medication that can be used. Bronchodilators help by reducing spasms. Anti-inflammatory medications reduce airway inflammation. If your asthma is particularly severe, your doctor may suggest that you use a combination of both.

These days there is a variety of prescription treatments that you can try:

*Accolade and Singulair, which are leukotriene inhibitors
*long-acting bronchodilators such as Famoterol and Serevent, and
*Theophylline or Aminophylline.

Your physician will be able to advise you which treatment is most suitable for your condition, which might even include a natural cure for asthma.

Often Unrecognized, Often Undiagnosed, Delayed Food Allergy In Children

You might find it surprising that not all allergies present with a fast-responding allergic reaction; you might find it surprising that it can be as long as three days before symptoms of an allergy present as a noteworthy reaction.All of the above are nevertheless true,and they are especially true of food allergies.  The condition even has a name, despite the fact that these food allergies often go undiagnosed—Delayed Food Allergy.

How Can Food Allergy Reactions Be Delayed?

Food molecules begin to be absorbed when they enter the mouth and digestive track, but they also continue to be broken down as food moves through the body.Meaning that some allergens found in foods will not be in a form that can be harmful until after some processing has occurred; it also means that some allergens will not build up to an intolerable level until after a time of processing.  All of this processing can take a fair amount of time, and delayed food allergy in children may not present symptoms for some time; it can take a few hours, or as long as twelve hours or three days for a delayed food allergy reaction in a child to show up.

So Many Symptoms, So Easily Mistaken

It’s fairly easy to figure out that a child has an allergy to a food when the symptoms come on fast and present obviously; but it’s a much different story when a food allergy reaction is delayed.

A sudden-onset food allergy reaction will normally present with itching of the face, throat, or mouth, and may also cause hives and swelling. 

These symptoms may also be present when there is delayed food allergy in children, but it may take hours before they occur.  More commonly, though, the symptoms of delayed food allergy in children are those that can easily pass for something other than an allergy, and that is why delayed food allergy in children is so often left undiagnosed.  The symptoms that are often missed in a food allergy in children include:

• Stomach upset
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain and cramps
• Constipation
• Congestion
• Headache
ADHD
• Mood changes
• Muscle or joint pain
• Gastrointestinal disease or condition

Obviously, each of these are symptoms that can easily be attributed to a wide variety of allergies and illnesses.  When other allergies cannot be found, or symptoms seem to coincidentally come on after certain foods are eaten, it might be wise to start considering the possibility of delayed food allergy in children.

In truth, many delayed food allergies in children fall more easily into the category of food intolerance rather than food allergy because there is no association with the allergy immune antibody IgE, the antibody that classically defines a reaction as an allergy.  The difference is really worth noting only for the sake of immunotherapy and the selection of medications.  It is worth exploring for some children, but as treatment of food allergies and intolerances relies more heavily on avoidance of offensive foods, identifying the trigger of a delayed food allergy in a child is often enough.

Symptoms So Easily Missed, Why Do They Matter?

It stands to reason that if something is not causing much of a notable problem, it’s really not much of a concern at all; but that is not really the case in regards to delayed food allergy in children. As mentioned above, knowing that there is a problem with a delayed food allergy in a child and finding out what the source of the allergy is is imperative to management of the allergy.

Management of delayed food allergy in children is important because no child should live their life in pain or discomfort when there is another option.  Couple this with the fact that delayed food allergy in children may be causing chronic and secondary conditions such as asthma, and you have some very good reasons to explore the possibility of delayed food allergy in children.

It is estimated that each year millions of Americans think about purchasing an air purifier for their home or their business. Are you one of those individuals?  If so, have you purchased an air purifier yet?  Unfortunately, a large number of individuals think about purchasing an air purifier, but not everyone ends up making that purchase. One of the reasons for that is because many individuals wonder whether or not they really need one.

When it comes to owning an air purifier, anyone can own one.  You do not necessarily have to meet certain criteria to be able to benefit from the use of an air purifier. Honestly, you could just be someone who is looking to breathe clean air.  If that is the case, you could definitely benefit from the purchase of an air purifier.  Despite the fact that some individuals have no set reason for wanting or needing an air purifier, there are others who do.  If you find yourself one of these individuals, as described below, you may want to seriously think about purchasing an air purifier for your home or your business.

Air purifiers work to clean the air. They do this by preventing harmful particles from passing through their collection grids or filters.  These particles may even include dust particles.  For that reason, if you have allergies associated with dust, you may very well find that an air purifier works to remove or completely eliminate your symptoms of allergy.  In turn, this may make your days and nights more pleasant and enjoyable.

In addition to reducing allergies associated with dust, air purifiers can also help those with allergies that are related pets.  You will find that multiple air purifiers not only trap pet hair, but they also trap the air particles created by pet droppings.  These dangerous particles are not only harmful to those who have a wheat allergy, but to everyone else who is in the home. In addition to eliminating particles created by pets in the home, you could also use an air purifier if you have a business that is centered on pets. These types of businesses include pet grooming shops and vet offices.

You may also want to think about purchasing an air purifier, especially if you have young children at home.  Children tend to be more susceptible to illness. With cleaner air, your child’s health may improve by a ton.  In addition to being used in traditional homes, you may also want to purchase an air purifier if you run or operate a daycare center.  An air purifier may not only improve your health, but the health of all of your children.  Essentially, this will make for happier and healthier children, which is extremely important when running a daycare business.

An air purifier may also be ideal for those who are smokers. Even if you are not a smoker, there may be someone inside your home who is.  If this is the case, you will want to seriously consider purchasing an air purifier.  Most air purifiers, especially those designed specifically for smoking households, may help to reduce secondhand smoke.  Secondhand smoke is bad for everyone, but it is especially bad for children.  Of course, you will want to try and not smoke around your children, but if you do, you will want to purchase an air purifier, if not for your own benefit then for the sake of your children.

As mentioned above, those operating a business centered on pets or kids could benefit from the use of an air purifier; however, they are not the only types of businesses who could benefit. If you are business owner, whether you run a small retail store or an office, you may want to think about getting an air purifier.  As mentioned above, air purifiers help to keep the air clean. In reality, this means that your employees will be healthier. In addition to better performance, you may also find that an air purifier helps to reduce the illnesses being spread throughout your building.  In turn, this may not only result in better performing employees, but employees who end up requesting less sick time. 

If the above mentioned examples describe you, in any way, you are advised to purchase an air purifier.  Whether that air purifier is for your home or your business, you will reap an unlimited number of benefits to owning and using one.

By Dr. Scot Lewey

Can genetics explain if you are allergic to some pollens or foods?

White blood cell patterns determined genetically and designated as HLA DQ and DR genes have been identified with an increased risk of pollen, dust, latex, and food allergies. The intriguing part of this story is that there is an advantage to knowing your HLA DR and DQ type when evaluating your risk for pollen allergies and their associated food allergies or cross reactions. Read more…

By Marilyn Franklin

Food allergies come in many forms but the one that seems to manifest earliest is a milk allergy. This is because it is usually associated with infants and babies. When many people hear the term milk allergy they associate it with lactose intolerance. The confusion is understandable but the allergen or trigger for each of these problems is very different. Read more…

By Marilyn Franklin

If you are a healthcare worker you may know about the dangers of a latex allergy but this allergen can affect the average person more than you know. A latex allergy is a reaction caused by the protein in rubber called latex. Read more…