Allergies are one of the most common conditions people face worldwide. Here in the U.S., over 100 million people suffer from at least one allergy. This chronic condition can have a seriously negative effect on a person’s quality of life due to their debilitating symptoms. If you’re living with allergies, you don’t have to fight alone. With the help of an expert allergist, you can regain your quality of life with practical and realistic disease management skills. In this post, we’ll go over some of the do’s and don’ts of leading a healthy life with allergies.
Do’s:
Identify Your Triggers
If you don’t know what’s triggering your allergies symptoms, then it’s impossible to avoid it. Visit a qualified allergist for an allergy test that will tell you exactly what you’re allergic to, so you’ll finally know what to stay away from. A comprehensive allergy test will expose you to tiny amounts of various known allergens and gauge your body’s response to the allergens. The test is quick, done right in the allergist’s office, and painless, but the information it yields is invaluable.
Follow Your Treatment Plan
Once you know your triggers, it’s time to work with your allergist to create a personalized treatment plan. In addition to avoiding your known allergy triggers, your plan to include education on identifying your triggers in unlikely places, medication reminders, and other lifestyle changes that will improve your allergy symptoms.
Keep Your Environment Clean
Allergens within the home can affect a person more than those outside of the home, so get in front of household allergy triggers by keeping your home as clean as possible. Clean surfaces regularly, dust with a damp cloth, vacuum with a HEPA filter, use HEPA filters on your HVAC system, wash bedding weekly in hot water, and use allergen-proof covers on all bedding, especially pillows. An air purifier may be a good investment as well if indoor allergies are your biggest concern.
Stay Prepared
Allergy symptoms can trigger asthma attacks or, even worse, anaphylaxis. Always carry your allergy medication with you no matter where you go, including faster-acting medication like Benadryl for use with acute-onset allergy symptoms. Being prepared may literally save your life if your allergy symptoms turn into something worse.
Practice Healthy Living
Everyone needs to practice healthy lifestyle habits, but when you’re living with a chronic condition like allergies, trying to live as healthy as possible is even more important. Exercise, eat right, don’t smoke, and get plenty of sleep for a start. Talk with your doctor about what other changes you can make to benefit your health and improve your allergy symptoms.
Check on Air Quality
Many allergies are environmental/seasonal in nature, meaning the allergens that cause them fluctuate in prevalence with the seasons. There are websites dedicated to keeping up with the pollen, mold, and other air quality allergen counts here in Florida – a good one to check out is iqair.com. Keep up with local allergen counts every day and avoid going outdoors on days with very high counts. If you can’t avoid the outdoors, weak and mask and eye protection to minimize exposure.
Get a Flu Shot
Many people overlook the importance of a flu shot, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, but they’re more important than ever. The flu can cause serious respiratory problems that affect people with allergies even more than the average person. By getting a flu shot, you’re protecting yourself and those around you from this preventable illness and reducing your chances of allergy-related complications.
Don’ts:
Ignore Symptoms
It’s easy to convince ourselves that allergy symptoms are just transient or “no big deal”, but you should never ignore allergy symptoms. This can lead to even bigger problems down the road, such as severe episodes, asthma attacks, anaphylaxis, or even death. Talk with your allergist about your symptoms and when you should intervene with medication or a call to their office.
Smoke or Allow Smoking Near You
Smoking is one of the worst habits you can have for your health and well-being. Not only does it smell terrible, but it can actually lead to serious allergy flare ups that cause great damage to not just your own health, but also the health of everyone around you. Stop smoking if you do, and stay away from secondhand smoke as much as possible.
Underestimate Stress
Stress is a silent killer, affecting every system in your body and causing havoc and chaos on your physical and emotional functioning. If you feel stress creeping into your life more and more, try adding in some tried-and-true stress management techniques like meditation, yoga, and deep breathing to your daily routine. You’ll probably be surprised at how much these tools can relieve your stress, ease your mind, and improve your chronic conditions like allergies.
Get Expert Allergy Guidance in Tampa Bay
These do’s and don’ts are a great place to start in managing your allergy symptoms, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. If you really want to get control over your allergies, schedule a consultation with a qualified allergist like those at Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Associates of Tampa Bay. We’ll help identify your allergy triggers, develop a targeted treatment plan, and monitor your progress, all while educating you on how to make small changes that can have a huge impact on your allergies and life. Contact us at 813-971-9743 to schedule your appointment at one of our Tampa offices today.
