Are you living in one of the worst places for fall allergies?  Check out the latest list for the Top 20 Fall Allergy Hotspots.   

Fall Allergy Hotspots: The 20 Worst Places In The U.S.

If you’re an allergy sufferer, you hardly need us to remind you, but it is that time of year again! Fall allergy season is upon us.  Think you live in a particularly bad spot?

The non-profit Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has, once again, compiled a list of the 100 worst metro areas for seasonal allergies — rankings that are based on pollen scores, the number of allergy meds used per patient in any given area, as well as the number of specialists in that spot. According to WebMD, one of the main culprits for fall allergies is ragweed, which typically begins pollinating in August, but can linger into the fall. Mold spores can also play a major role.

Wondering if your hometown made the so-called “allergies capital” list? Check out the 20 worst offenders below as reported in the Huffington Post.

1. ENCASE:  Cover your bed with allergy encasings!  They’re the #1 doctor-recommended step for allergy relief!
2. WASH:  Wash linens to remove allergens.  Make your job easier with allergen-removing detergents.
3. CLEAN:  Every little bit helps with cleaning and certain household cleaners are designed to tackle allergens.
4. REMOVE:  It’s best to remove carpets, but that can be touch.  Use carpet treatments that remove allergens.
5. FILTER:  Air filters trap allergens and keep them from circulating in your home. 
6. PURIFY:  HEPA air purifiers capture airborne allergens.  Save now on Blueair HEPA filter replacements! 
7. SAVE:  What’s this 7th step?  Oh yeah, it’s an extra bonus from us!  SAVE 20% with code 20SPOT until 10/31.  If you’re in a tight spot with allergies, get the products and the relief you need! 

“If you suffer from allergies, you may experience sneezing, stuffiness, a running nose and itchiness in your nose, the roof of your mouth, throat, eyes, or ears. These allergic reactions are most commonly caused by pollen, mold spores in the air, or effects in the weather and location,” says Rima DeFatta, M.D., an ear, nose and throat specialist at Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s hospitals.

“Finding the right treatment is the best method for managing your allergies. There is no reason to suffer during allergy season,” says Dr. DeFatta.

Limit exposure to the pollen or molds that cause allergy symptoms

Find out — Know your triggers
Watch out — Monitor pollen and mold counts, stay indoors when counts are high
Keep the pollen outside — Keep windows closed at your home and in your car
Mask your misery — Wear a pollen mask when outside for long periods of time
Clean — After being outdoors, take a shower, wash your hair, change your clothing, have furnishings and carpet cleaned, and clean your nasal passages with saline sinus rinse
Take a Vacation — Consider taking a vacation during the height of the season to more of a pollen free area, close to a beach or sea
Don’t let up — Don’t stop your allergy medication too soon

Read the full Chippewa Herald article at: http://chippewa.com/lifestyles/article_f32e4d9e-ea07-11e0-bb9a-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1ZM8wL8Pl

Can you believe summer is over?  My next door neighbor is packing the car right now for college and she cannot wait to get back.  Her mom…well that’s a different story!  Needless to say, someone will be missed!

On the Today show this morning, David Gregory and a recent Quinnipiac College Grad went through MUST HAVES for your DORM ROOM.  There were quite a few essential items that I wish I had when I went to college…many moons ago.

Here are some of the ESSENTIALS they listed:

• Double Stick Tape & Command Hooks - you can’t hammer nails into most college walls so these are great for decorating
• Light bulbs - you have your lights on most of the time in the dorms – so bring extra
• Surge Protectors - in our technology driven world you never have enough plugs
• Pant Hanger Valets - save space in your closet with one hanger for multiple pants
• Portable Steamer - makes getting those wrinkles out so much easier!
• Laundry Organizer – they are available in fun bright colors that look good in your dorm room yet you still keep brights & whites separate!  Mom..where are you when we need you?
• Bedbug Mattress Encasings - unfortunately bedbugs are becoming more and more common.   Let’s keep those disgusting bed bugs off of you!
• Bed Risers - such a simple purchase and you can raise your dorm bed and have more room for storage under the bed
• Clock Radio – the louder the better so you don’t miss class
• Cork Boards & Wipe Boards – the key to success is staying organized and of course you can pin up your favorite pic of your dog that you left at home!

Very soon, millions of children will be returning back to school.   A lot of us have school-aged children with food allergies.  Parents…what are some things that you do to make sure the children are safe in their classroom?   Teachers…do you have any advice for the parents out there who want to provide a safe environment for their children and their friends?  Below is an article regarding food allergies that we thought might be helpful.

The director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai, Hugh Sampson is a pediatric allergist/immunologist who has spent 30 years specializing in food allergies.

Who’s at risk

Childhood food allergy has been in the news lately, with a recent CDC study estimating that 1 in 13 American kids is affected.  ”Food allergy is an adverse reaction to a food brought about by an abnormal response of your immune system,” says Sampson. “As many as 6% to 8% of young kids may have food allergy, but most of them grow out of it by age 10.  In the general population of adults and kids, about 2.5% of Americans have a food allergy.  The most common childhood food allergies are to milk, eggs and peanuts, followed by tree nuts and soy.  ”Kids usually outgrow milk, egg and soy allergy, but the other allergies tend to persist to adulthood,” says Sampson. “Adults are most often allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish and fish.”  Doctors still don’t know exactly why some kids’ immune systems respond to food abnormally.   ”There appears to be a genetic predisposition because it does travel in families,” says Sampson.  ”A study of identical and nonidentical twins found that about 80% of heritability was due to genetics, which leaves the remaining 20% up to the environment – probably something to do with the Western lifestyle and the way our food is processed.”  Children with food allergies are also at increased risk of what doctors call atopic diseases – allergic rhinitis (aka, hay fever), asthma and eczema, an itchy skin rash.  ”We call it the ‘atopic march’ because kids with food allergy and eczema in early childhood tend to develop asthma and allergic rhinitis down the road,” says Sampson.

Signs and symptoms

The most common symptoms of food allergy manifest through the skin, gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system.  ”The classic reaction is an itching sensation of the mouth, swelling of the lips and tongue and tightness in the throat,” says Sampson.  ”There’s often an itchy red rash, like hives and some kids develop a runny nose, watery eyes and wheezing.”  Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, crampy abdominal pain and vomiting, frequently accompany other ðallergic symptoms.  If the allergic reaction is severe, it can cause a drop of blood pressure, hypotensive shock, loss of consciousness and even death. One thing that makes food allergy so hard to treat is that it’s impossible to predict how severe the next reaction will be.  ”You can have a mild reaction one time, like mild swelling in the tongue and mouth and then a very severe reaction the next time and go into shock,” says Sampson. “Typically, if a reaction involves more than the skin and upper respiratory tract, we consider that anaphylaxis, which is a severe reaction that threatens the whole body.”

Questions for your doctor
If you think your child has symptoms of food allergy, ask your pediatrician, “Can my child be tested?” Sampson warns that a blood test alone isn’t enough, so you may want to be referred to a specialist.  Another key question is, “When will my child outgrow this and how will I know?” Fortunately, most kids outgrow food allergy while they’re still in grade school.

For the full article, click here.

For a great guide on how to manage children’s allergies, please click here for a book by allergist, Dr. Paul Erlich et al.

Your home can be a huge source of allergies, even when it looks spotless!  Dust mites, pet dander, molds and more can be lurking everywhere, causing allergy and asthma symptoms.  The American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) offers top tips to reduce indoor allergens and to help you feel better and control your symptoms.  Highlights from the article are below, or check out the full article on the AAAAI’s website by clicking here.

Millions of people suffer from allergy symptoms caused by indoor allergens such as house dust mite droppings, animal dander, cockroach droppings and molds. The symptoms are the result of a chain reaction that starts in the genes and is expressed in the immune system.

Your immune system controls how your body defends itself. For instance, if you have an allergy to dust mites, your immune system identifies dust mites as an invader or allergen. Your immune system overreacts by producing antibodies called Immunoglobulin E (IgE). These antibodies travel to cells that release chemicals, causing an allergic reaction. This reaction usually causes symptoms in the nose, lungs, throat, sinuses, ears, lining of the stomach or on the skin.

With the help of an allergist / immunologist, often referred to as an allergist, you can learn what indoor allergens cause your symptoms and make environmental changes to avoid them.

Healthy Tips
• Keep your home clean and dry to help make it “allergen-free.”
• Focus on sites where allergens build up – bedding, carpet and upholstered furniture.
• Weekly vacuuming can help. Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter or double bags.
• Keep humidity low by using an air conditioner or dehumidifier.
• Fix leaks to avoid mold, and clean or remove moldy materials promptly.
• Avoid pests by keeping food in sealed containers and using covered garbage cans.

You can visit your phyisican or allergist for medical advice on controlling allergies.  Also check out the hundreds of products to help your allergies at www.AllergyControl.com.

We’re looking forward to the holiday weekend and are passing along these tips to keep allergy symptoms at bay.  Whether you’re planning on hitting the beach or catching up on chores around the house, you can get the best out of R&R time with a few simple steps:

1. If you’re planning on a trip to the beach or spending time outdoors, make sure to use plenty of sunscreen. If you have sensitivity to fragrances or sensitive skin, Vanicream Sunscreens are top notch when it comes to hypo-allergenic sunblook solutions.  No fragrances or irritating chemicals.  If you’re tired of the heavy coconut or other perfumed sunblocks, try Vanicream!
2. Your clothes can become covered in pollen after spending time outdoors.  Once you come inside, it’s best to change clothes and ideally to shower to remove these pollens.  Wash with Vanicream hair care and skin care products and wash clothes with an allergen-removing detergent such as Allersearch Allergen Wash.
3. If you’re catching up on chores around the house, use a face mask to avoid inhaling airborne allergens such as molds and pollens.  The AllergyZone Face Mask is disposable and only $9.95 for 3.  Or for a custom fit and superior filtration, try a Contour or Aero Permanent mask.
4. If your dog likes to take a dip in the pool or spends lots of time outdoors with you, get rid of allergens and pet odors by giving Fido a bath with Allersearch Pet Anti-Allergen Shampoo.  For a quick cleaning, dampen a cloth with Allerpet Solution and wipe over your dog.
5. After a day outside, you can rinse nasal pasages to help wash away irritating allergens.  Try NeilMed Sinus Products to keep your nose healthy.

We’ll keep the allergy tips coming so that you can enjoy the best of summer by reducing symptoms!

We’ve all heard the saying, “Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”, but it’s becoming all too real lately. Infestations from bed bugs are on the rise in the U.S., and these little critters are a nasty bunch who make their home in beds and soft furnishings where they come out typically at night to bite you and feed on your blood.  Bed bugs are different from dust mites, although both can be making their home in your bed. Dust mites don’t bit you, but they do cause allergy symptoms whereas bed bugs do not.  Encasings can protect you from both bed bugs and dust mites, if you get pillow encasings and mattress encasings that have been tested and provent to provide allergy and bed bug protection.  Even if you’re only looking for allergy relief from dust mites, the additional bed bug protection is an added bonus to keep these pesky bugs from invading your bed.

If you want more information about bed bugs, make sure to read our bed bug article here in the Allergy Learning Center. It will help you to understand more about bed bugs and what protection encasings can provide.

I needed to better control the horrible allergies my kids were facing and, at the same time, stop spending ridiculous money on all the drugs that are being prescribed or pushed at my children! I decided the best way to stop the madness was to simply avoid the things that trigger my kid’s Read more »