Seasonal Allergy and coronavirus | How to fight off seasonal allergy? |Fitness

How to fight off seasonal allergy symptoms!

Seasonal allergy symptoms emerge in spring, causing severe sniffing & sneezing. The blooming trees release pollen which spreads instantly into the air causing severe chest congestion, hay fever, and asthma.

seasonal-allergy--coronavirus

What causes severe seasonal allergy?

The biggest allergy trigger is the pollen that travels faster in the air, which triggers an allergic person's immune system into overdrive. The excessive pollen in the atmosphere makes allergy sufferers fall prey to allergic rhinitis or hay fever. Here are some of the seasonal allergy hay fever offenders:

•       Dust

•       Trees like paper mulberry, cottonwood, Aspen, Cedar, Beech, box elder, cedar, and poplar

•       Grasses & weeds including Bermuda, Fescue, Saltgrass and sweet vernal

Seasonal allergy symptoms of hay fever or allergic rhinitis

The symptoms of spring allergies tend to increase on breezy days when the wind spreads the pollen faster. On the other hand, rainy days lower the pollen count for rain washes away the allergens.

The symptoms of spring allergies are:

•      Running nose & Watery eyes

•    Sniffing & Sneezing

•   Coughing

•    Itchy eyes & Nose

•    Dark circles under the eyes

How to diagnose a seasonal allergy?

Two tests are performed by Doctors to diagnose seasonal allergy symptoms: 

Skin Prick Test

The subcutaneous part of the skin is pricked, and a small drop of allergen is placed on your skin. If you are allergic to the substance, you will develop itching, swelling, and redness in the test site within 20 minutes.

Blood Test for IgE

People who don't prefer skin prick tests or are taking long medication can go for a blood test. Your provider may take the blood sample and send it to the laboratory to perform the immunoglobin E test. The lab may add allergen to the blood and perform the test. This test is called a specific IgE test to rule out seasonal allergy.

Plan your day with the seasonal allergy forecast tool!

Pollen is an allergen present in the wind that is picked up and carried by the wind. Various trees in spring produce pollen which may cause hay fever, allergic sinusitis, and irritate your eyes and skin. One way to control and combat allergy is to plan and prepare. Allergy forecast allows seeing which allergens are present in the air in the area where you live and work. If you are prone to a seasonal allergy, then:

• Read daily seasonal allergy impacts and know the pollen count in your city to plan your day.

• Daily, current, or hourly weather and seasonal pollen forecasts can make your day.

• Know how the allergy is affecting others in your city

• Know what medicines are prescribed for patients having seasonal allergy symptoms

• Know about the number of allergy specialists practicing in your city

Ways to defeat seasonal allergy!

seasonal-allergy--coronavirus

Take these precautions to avoid allergic reactions:

• Stay indoors, keep your windows and door shut

• Use a special air filter in your furnace or air conditioning to remove 95% particles from indoor air

• Wash away allergens every time you walk into your home. Take a shower and change clothes every time you walk into your home

• Wear a Mask as it keeps the allergy triggers away from your nasal cavity and reduces seasonal allergy headaches.

•  Use nasal rinse to clean mucus from your nose to help decrease postnasal drip

•  Drink more water, juice, and hot mint tea

•  Take steam if you feel chest congestion to ease breath

•   Avoid cigarette and other smoke and fumes

•   Seasonal allergy medicine like antihistamine eye drops will remove allergies from your eyes.

•   Use Flonase Allergy Relief Nasal Spray with your MD's advice

Best and Worst Cities for Seasonal allergy in the U.S

The worst cities are those where the pollen count is higher, the number of allergy cases is higher, and the number of seasonal allergy medicine prescribed is higher. Also, the number of board-certified allergists practicing in a city determines the scope of an allergy-prone city. The southern cities are worst for seasonal allergies for the fundamental issue with cities is the type of plant, trees, weeds, or grasses that grow in the area. Environmental factors like weather, wind, humidity, temperatures and air pollution also contribute to developing allergies. The best cities have less environmental pollution and mountains because mountain areas show fewer pollen counts than the southern and Midwest. More than 58 million Americans are exposed to various allergic reactions due to the above-mentioned factors.

 Seasonal Allergy and coronavirus: how to distinguish them from symptoms?

seasonal-allergy--coronavirus

One of the most typical symptoms of Covid 19, fever, is not among those present in pollen allergies. With the right therapies, the seasonal allergy symptoms disappear while the infectious forms remain.

The mild temperatures and the flowering of many plants in recent weeks, as every year have increased the concentration of pollen in the air, favoring the typical ailments of spring allergies. Those who are allergic know this: the pollens that circulate can cause a series of eye irritations, causing conjunctivitis, red eyes, swollen eyelids, watery eyes. In addition, other typical signs of an allergy are nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing. But these are also common symptoms of the new coronavirus disease, which can confuse ideas and alarm.

How to distinguish between Seasonal Allergy and Coronavirus?

There are ways, however, to distinguish the two ailments. "One of the suspicious symptoms of coronavirus is the fever which is absent in allergic manifestations," explains Giorgio Walter Canonica, professor of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology at Humanitas University. And today, those with fever are forced to stay at their home. "In addition, allergic rhinitis should be more easily distinguished from viral rhinitis because usually sneezing is blank (that is, gusts), the nose runs a lot (and this is a symptom not particularly typical of Covid 19) and can be associated with conjunctivitis, which is rather common in the new disease ".

Seasonal allergy medicine 

It is easy, among other things, for those who are allergic to these times to go back to suffering like every year and therefore are prepared for the problem. "Anyone who knows they are allergic to pollen and is currently experiencing coughs and colds must begin the therapy prescribed by the allergist based on antihistamines and inhaled corticosteroids that reduce symptoms. Certainly, if after 4-5 days the ailments do not subside, you can think you have contracted Covid-19 with a mild form, if without fever," adds the allergist.

The diffusion

Let us remember that respiratory allergies are widespread in the world and in Europe. About 1 in 4 people suffer from it, and in Italy alone, 20 million people are affected in more or less serious forms. To avoid getting in touch with allergens as much as possible, allergic ones must remain indoors. The imposition by Palazzo Chigi to stay in their homes certainly makes people less exposed to pollen. In addition, the use of masks, even surgical ones, helps prevent allergens, which are significantly larger than those of viruses from reaching the airways. A role may also reduce air pollution, which usually tends to aggravate respiratory diseases such as rhinitis and asthma.

If it's the first time

The allergy to pollen can develop at all ages, and those who do not know it and have respiratory symptoms during this period could certainly more easily confuse them with those of the coronavirus: "With coughs and colds that suspect a respiratory allergy contact your doctor who can make a diagnosis and set up a therapy. With the right drugs, allergic disorders subside in a few days while the infectious forms persist. "

Coronavirus and allergy: the study

seasonal-allergy--coronavirus

A small study conducted in China, in Wuhan, published in Allergy at the beginning of March, also dealt with coronaviruses and allergies. The researchers evaluated 140 patients hospitalized for Covid-19, none of whom suffered from asthma or allergic diseases. Based on the results, the researchers concluded that suffering from allergies would not be a risk factor for contracting the infection while admitting that the sample is limited. "I recommend - concludes Walter Canonica - to those in continuous treatment for asthma by not stopping the current therapy.”

How to figure out if Covid is the cause of eye inflammation?

The eyes, in addition to being a possible door for coronavirus entry, even if only a few cases, it can also become a source of transmission of the infection.

Hands, how to prevent skin irritation from too many washes

Washing your hands is often necessary now more than ever, but water causes dehydration. To avoid it, especially if you suffer from eczema, dermatitis, or psoriasis, just use non-aggressive detergents. The choice of gloves and tricks for nails.

Washing your hands often is the mantra that has accompanied us in these (first) months of living with Covid-19. Just advice and absolutely to follow to limit the infection, but with some side effects visible on our hands. "The abundant and frequent use of soaps and disinfectants, but above all of the water, tends to dehydrate and dry the epidermis, which therefore we must protect more than usual," warns Piergiorgio Malagoli, head of Dermatology at the San Donato Polyclinic in Milan. "If for most people it will only be a nuisance given by the drier skin, for those who have pathologies such as eczema or psoriasis they can trigger relapses."

Summary

Allergic reaction to a foreign substance triggers seasonal allergy symptoms or hay fever causes asthma, running nose, watery eyes whereas in corona cases the symptom is fever. Seasonal allergy medicine is almost the same for both immune systems to overreact when defending themselves. Normally the immune system only reacts when harmful bacteria attack your body. The common allergic reactions include hay fever, asthma, seasonal allergy headache, and the severity of the allergic reaction can vary from mild discomfort to life-threatening situations. The cure for allergies includes avoidance, steroids, antihistamines, seasonal allergy medicine, and immunotherapy to minimize allergic reactions. Allergic reactions depend on the pollen count in your city, and you can plan your day by reading the weather and pollen forecast. 

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