Jun

24

Exercise Induced Asthma

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A small percent of people experience asthma symptoms like coughing, difficulty breathing, wheezing and tightness of the chest after working out. Exercise induced asthma can even be found in professional athletes and usually does not hinder performance as the symptoms usually occur shortly after exercising. Obviously people who suffer from asthma or breathing problems should avoid working out outdoors when pollution or pollen levels are high making breathing difficult. It is also important to consume plenty of water both during and after exercising. You may also want to change the type of exercises you are performing as some people find activities like swimming cause fewer attacks. This is due to the fact that changes in humidity and temperature are thought to play a major part in exercise induced asthma. Normally air passes through the nose which acts as a natural humidifier but during exercise air passes through the mouth.

Exercise Induced Asthma Tips

  • Possible Medications: beta agonist, corticosteroids and mast cell stabilizers. There are a variety of medications available your doctor will help select one that best fits your needs.
  • Be sure you have your medications with you.
  • Warm up in cycles,  some people experience some exercise induced allergy symptoms after warming up but will be symptom free initially after exercising. Warming up may prevent the lungs from being overwhelmed from temperature changes in the air.
  • Avoid weather extremes, both extreme cold and heat can be problems.
  • Swimming seems to cause fewer asthma attacks.
  • Sports that require long periods of strenuous exercise may need to be modified.
  • One study at the University of Indiana found that caffeine reduced exercise induced asthma.
  • Under no circumstances should you resume exercise while experiencing asthma symptoms.
  • Its a good idea to wear a asthma-allergy alert bracelet and have a emergency plan in place if medication fails to relieve asthma symptoms.

Other Exercise Induced Allergies

exercise_induced_asthma

Diagnosing exercise induced asthma is done with a breathing test, where breathing is measured at rest and following vigorous exercise. If there is a noticeable difference in air speed when breathing out after exercising than you may be experiencing exercise induced asthma.

If you experience any symptoms during or after exercise its very important to consult a doctor. Not only could they be symptoms of a serious illness but ignoring them may derail your exercise program. Many athletes have suffered from exercise induced asthma but with the help of medication they are still able to compete at a professional level.

Jun

16

Poison Ivy Symptoms

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This is the time of year that many of us are trying to reconnect with nature whether its on a long walk through a wooded trail or playing a round of golf. You may however want to think twice about wondering off the trail or chasing that errant golf shot into the brush, as poison ivy and similar plants may be waiting for you with a nasty surprise. About 85% of those who stumble onto poison ivy will experience poison ivy symptoms with in a few hours to a few days.

Poison Ivy Symptoms

poison_ivy_leafPoison ivy which happens to belong to the cashew and mango family contains a oil known as urushiol that is responsible for causing poison ivy symptoms. The symptoms can also occur from secondary contact with a object that has touched urushiol oil and then your skin. So for example if that errant golf shot you hit goes into the rough and takes a good bounce back onto the fairway, and it happened to go through some poison ivy along the way your golf ball may be contaminated. Pets can also carry the urushiol oil in their fur and infect you with it if they were in contact with poison ivy.

Poison Ivy Contact Dermatitis

  • The skin may start off with just a little redness which blisters and becomes very itchy before a poison ivy rash appears.
  • Swelling may also occur.
  • Scratching the infected area could lead to a bacteria infection and related fever.
  • After a short time skin may become dry with  scales. Normally poison ivy symptoms will disappear after a few weeks on its own.

Treating Poison Ivy Symptoms

  • If you think you may have come in contact with poison ivy wash the area with soap but do not spread it around. Poison ivy symptoms will occur where the plant made contact with the skin or where contaminated clothes or hands have touched the skin.
  • Remove any clothing that may have touched the poison ivy plant. Do not touch other parts of your body until your hands have been washed as they may infect other areas of the body.
  • Washing the area in vinegar is also worth trying if caught early.
  • Soaking the area with a cool compress may help.
  • Soaking in oatmeal is also sometimes recommended.
  • Calamine oil may help or a moisturizer may be used when skin becomes dry, though some may be irritating.
  • You may want to cover up any open areas of skin to prevent infection.
  • Severe reactions require the care of a doctor.

Preventing Poison Ivy

The old saying “leaves of three let it be” still holds true as one of the
easiest ways to recognize or avoid poison ivy. The leaves of poison ivy change color with the season just like leaves on a tree.

Obviously covering up exposed skin and avoiding wooded and over grown areas is the best way to prevent poison ivy, but you can also buy cream like ivy block that you put on your skin to act as a barrier between it and the poison ivy urushiol oil.

Lastly poison ivy is not contagious,  poison ivy rashes or the fluid in them can not be spread to others or to other parts of the body

Jun

11

What Are T Helper Cells?

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cellsT helper cells play a vital role in the function of the bodies immune system and its ability to defend itself against any threats. The cells act very much like the control center for the bodies immune system in that T helper cells recognize any threat and decide if there should be a reaction and how much it should be.

If you think of your body as a war field, T helper cells are the 4 star generals and when the body is attacked they organize the forces, and decide how much defense is needed to fend off the attacks. In doing so it decides what cells should get involved, When the threat has been over come they let other cells know that they can stop as they declare victory

T helper cells are unique in this way in that they do not kill infections or pathogens but rather organize other cells to react against them. Because T helper cells are the command and control center for the immune system many deadly viruses like HIV  and other immune diseases often strike at them causing a collapse of the entire immune system. With allergies these T helper cells may be responsible for over estimating the threat and send to great of a response thus causing painful allergy symptoms. The T helper cells direct B cells to differentiate into IgE-producing plasma cells. The end result is a large amount of histamine and other allergic mediators being produced that may not be needed.

Jun

10

Rhinitis Research

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New research presented at the Congress of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) has given new hope for those who suffer from rhinitis.

The 2 year trial found a depigmented tree pollen extract to be more effective than a placebo at relieving rhinitis.

Rhinitis often involves irritation and inflammation of the interior of the nose. It can lead to excess mucus being generated resulting in a runny nose or nasal drip. Its estimated that as many as 50 million people in the United States may suffer  from rhinitis, usually allergies or histamines are to blame for rhinitis  conditions.
Angelika Sager, German MD explained, “We could nicely demonstrate a significant and clinically relevant reduction in the combined symptom and medication score of 36% over placebo,”during his presentation.

The study was done over two seasons where immunotherapy was done with depigment  tree pollen. It was conducted in 3 countries ( Germany, Lithuania, and Poland) and involved a total of 184 participants.

Jun

9

Hair Dye Allergy

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hair_dye_allergyAllergy Today magazine is reporting a rise in the number consumers who have hair dye allergy symptoms. Hair dye use is no longer reserved for the old but its become a fashion trend among younger people to use permanent and semi permanent hair dye. Many of hair dye allergic reactions are blamed on Para-phenylenediamin.

While I must admit that I will occasionally use hair dye a few times a year. In recent years I will dye my hair on my birthday and at Christmas. I have been a little troubled by reports of hair dye and possible cancer links. You can google it for yourself (hair dye+cancer) and decide but I think the hair dye companies are doing a good job on the hair dye allergy front as far warning people about them.

On a recent package of hair dye that I purchased I found allergy warnings in no less than 4 different spots on the package and contents. Ironically it took me about 10 minutes to find a list of ingredients that the hair dye contained, unfortunately most of the ingredients where chemicals which I  had never heard of. They were printed on a small part on the bottom of the box and far more concealed than the multiple hair dye allergy warnings. The instructions also advised that a 48 hour patch test be done every time before using hair dye.

Hair Dye Allergy Patch Test

  • Wash a area on fold of elbow
  • Applying color base to a spot about the size of a quarter
  • Examine the area for any allergy symptoms and only apply the dye if there is no reaction

The instructions also advised not to use hair dye if there is skin damage where the hair dye is to be used and warned that those who have tattoos could be at a higher risk to suffering hair dye  allergy  symptoms.

Hair Dye Allergy Symptoms

  • A stinging or burning feeling  shortly after being applied
  • Skin rash, hives, blisters and itchy scalp
  • Shortness of breath, tight chest and dizziness
  • Swelling of face

One thing I was guilty of is not reading the instructions fully before using hair dye products in the past. After reading about hair dye allergies and seeing just how much information is provided in the instructions I can see how important it really is. If you do experience any hair dye allergy symptoms you should seek medical attention and of course discontinue the use of the product.

There are some natural hair dye products on the market that I plan on looking into but the other alternative is to just live with the salt and pepper look.

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