An allergy is an abnormal reaction of the immune system to a substance that is harmless normally. Your body, together with the environment that you are in, both play a giant role when it comes to triggering allergy symptoms. When the body encounters known allergens, they respond immediately by releasing chemicals which bring about the various symptoms like sneezing and coughing.
If you suffer allergies, you have got to understand that dust mites that are responsible for the same are everywhere. These mites are found throughout the home and to their advantage, they are invisible to the naked eye because of their size. As per the statistics, twenty-five percent of the population will return a positive skin prick reaction to these dust mite allergens. Of this twenty-five percent, half of them will go ahead to suffer an allergic reaction of some sort. You however have to know that these allergic reactions are not to the dust mites themselves but to their microscopic waste products. Many health issues affecting people are caused by these tiny droppings and the fungi that grow on them.
It is impossible to completely eradicate these tiny creatures out of your home. However, there are a number of steps that you can take so as to minimize their effects on both your health and that of your family. To make your body respond normally to these allergens, you have got to consider the following steps.
1. Identifying what triggers your allergy
Depending on the environment that you are in, dust powder is composed of different substances. House dust also differs from one house to another. This difference is brought about by a number of factors, some of which include the following: humidity in the house, the building materials used, the furniture found there, and the presence of pets, among other things. Or even dirty air ducts. Apart from dust mites, animal dander is one of the most common allergens. Your allergy may be as a result of a single allergen or one or even more. When you identify what exactly causes your allergy to dust, then you will be in a position to know what particular substance you are supposed to get rid of from your surroundings.
No matter the cause, you should also be aware that your air ducts will continue to spread those substances even long after you’ve removed them from your house. That’s why dryer and air duct cleaning is a must for anyone wanting to have a allergen-free home.
2. Trying allergen desensitization
This type of desensitization involves the injection of allergens so as to moderate your response and to trigger your immune system. The rare medical risk accompanied with this treatment is anaphylaxis. Some of its symptoms include; reduction of blood pressure, breathing difficulties, vomiting, and skin rashes. Nowadays, this kind of allergen desensitization has been developed for common dust components like dust mites. If you are not in a position to avoid the allergens, then try this treatment as it might work.
3. Taking antihistamines
The body’s sensitivity that triggers a response to the dust allergens enables it to release histamines. When these histamines are released, symptoms like itching and sneezing are experienced. For you to make these symptoms milder, you can take antihistamines which counteracts these effects. Most of these drugs work well as far as counteracting the itching and sneezing symptoms, but may not have a greater effect on the rest of the symptoms. As a precaution, you should consult your doctor before taking these drugs as they can have side effects and complications with other medications that you could be taking.
4. Consuming local honey
Consuming local honey will help your body to adapt to the allergens in that environment. This exercise is supposed to work like a natural allergy shot since it does not seem to have a downside. What you actually have to do here is to consume a teaspoon or more of raw, unprocessed local honey from as close to where you live as possible. To help in relieving symptoms, you are supposed to do this one or more times in a day. It is advisable that you start taking the honey a month before the allergy season.
There is no need to suffer the symptoms of dust allergies. Take a step in getting rid of your allergies to dust now so you can live an easier and more enjoyable life. As you undertake treatments and medicines however, you have to know that these treatments will not work if your surrounding is filled with allergens that endanger their health. At all times, you should ensure that you are living in a clean house so as to reduce the risk of developing symptoms.